Bollard scam surfaced in Smart City Office!

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Four years ago, the Smart City Office purchased fibre bollards valuing Rs 3 crore, to develop bicycle tracks on the main roads of the city. However, the Smart City officials are unable to answer like the number of bollards fixed on different roads, bollards in store etc. The proposed file seems to be missing from the shelves of the office. Hence the surprised municipal commissioner G Sreekanth gave an ultimatum of three days to submit the details of the bollards and its file or he hinted at initiating an inquiry against the concerned officials.

The first bicycle track was built in the city on the road extended from Kranti Chowk to Railway Station. The track proved to be a failed attempt following the strong opposition from the shopkeepers on the road. However, Smart City has purchased bollards valuing Rs 3 crore to develop the bicycle tracks in the city. Strict confidentiality was maintained in the purchase and storage of the bollards. Hence none of them were aware of how many bollards are fixed on bicycle tracks on different roads. The bollards were largely brought into use during the visit of G20 delegations. They were used as dividers on some roads, as markers for safe left turns on a few roads etc.

It so happened that the civic chief raised the issue of bollards during the meeting on Tuesday. He told the smart city officials to replace the damaged bollards and inquired how many bollards are there in the store. The officials maintained silence. Later on, he asked how much money was spent on their purchase, where is the proposal file and who ordered to buy it, etc. Later on, one engineer Kiran Aadhe said there are 3,000 bollards in the store, but she failed to answer other questions put up by the civic chief.

Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised about whether the Smart City administration purchased the bollards through a tender process or bought them directly.