Delay in work of smart roads, despite availability of funds

-CEO to discuss directly with the contractor

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: It was decided to smooth the roads in the city with white topping with the funds of Smart City. Even though a year has passed, the work is moving at snail's pace. Hence CEO Dr Abhijeet Chaudhary will soon hold a meeting with the contractor AG Construction to discuss the reason behind the delay.

Before March 31, 2022, it was decided to construct 108 roads through Smart City by spending Rs 318 crores. The tender was awarded to AG Construction. However, funds of Rs 80 crores were available with Smart City. Work of 22 roads were done in the first phase with such meager funds. A team of IIT Powai was appointed to inspect the quality of works.

The team inspected the works and gave special instructions to the contractor regarding quality. Meanwhile, Dr Chaudhary approved the list of 44 roads in the second phase. It was decided to break the deposits of Rs 200 crores and use Rs 100 crores for roads. Despite the availability of funds, there is no speed in the work. The objective was to complete the Town Hall to Makai Gate road before the G20. As the road was not completed, the G20 delegates had to take the Millcorner to Barapulla Gate route to see the heritage sites.

Rising temperature to become barrier

The temperature of the city rises considerably in summer. The road works done by Smart City are made of cement. It becomes difficult to work when the temperature rises. So the next two to three months are going to be troublesome for these jobs.

January was the deadline

The administration had set a target of completing 44 roads in January 2023. In this regard, Dr Chaudhary said that instructions have been given to start the works on these roads. A separate meeting will be held with the contractor shortly. During the meeting, the problems of the contractor will be discussed.