Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani inspects road concretisation work in Borivali, emphasizing quality and timely completion before the monsoon | File Photo
Mumbai: After noticing sub-standard road concretisation work at several locations, the BMC has imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakhs on the contractor and the quality control agency responsible for the poor work.
On Thursday, during a visit to a road concretisation project in Borivali, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani instructed civic officials and engineers to personally inspect the work sites and closely monitor the progress.
The civic authorities have taken action after complaints about poor construction quality in certain locations, initiating an inquiry into ongoing concretisation work. The evaluation is being conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT-B).
“A contractor and a quality control agency were fined Rs 1.5 lakhs each for substandard work on a road in Lokhandwala, Andheri West. Similar actions have been taken in other areas where poor quality road concretisation was found. Additionally, the contractor will be instructed to carry out rectification work to address the issues,” said a senior civic official.
Meanwhile, Gagrani inspected ongoing concretisation work in R- Central – Borivali area along with deputy municipal commissioner (Zone- 7) Bhagyashree Kapse and Assistant municipal commissioner Sandhya Nandedkar on Thursday. Gagrani instructed the officials to ensure that all roadworks in the area are completed before the onset of the monsoon.
The area near Borivali (East) station experiences waterlogging every year during the rainy season. During his visit, Gagrani also reviewed the proposed drainage improvement work by the Stormwater Drain Department, emphasising the need for timely execution to prevent the usual waterlogging issues.
The BMC’s ambitious project to concretise roads in Mumbai had faced setbacks due to substandard work at some locations. In Phase 1, the BMC has completed only 46 km of the planned 324 km of concretisation within a year. Currently, work is ongoing on 213 roads, with 298 roads yet to be concretised. In Phase 2, of the 1,420 roads scheduled for concretisation, 433 are currently under construction, with many still pending.
