Siddharth Garden Row: BoT contractor embarasses CSMC

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

After waiting 43-days for the BoT contractor to implement the order of removing the steel-framed dome built upon the entrance of Siddharth Garden, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) removed the dome through its own expense on Wednesday. Earlier, the municipal corporation had issued an order to the contractor who built the shopping complex on the frontage of the garden on Built-Operate-and Transfer (BoT) basis. However, the latter took the order of CSMC for granted. Hence after waiting for around one and a half months and to avoid further embarrassment, the civic administration started removing the dome and demolishing dangerous portions through a crane.

In an unfortunate incident two women died, during unexpected rainfall, after the ceiling of the entrance equipped with the steel dome collapsed upon them on June 11 evening. The incident drew critical comments against the BoT contractor for constructing the complex and the entrance at substandard quality. The CSMC registered a case of genocide against the contractor. The CSMC also issued an order directing the contractor to remove the dome. When the response was absent from the contractor, the civic administration deployed a crane to remove the dome weighing around 700-800 kg and placed it on the ground. It may be noted that the garden and the zoo have been closed to the public for the last one and a half months. This forced the municipal corporation to sustain a revenue loss of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.

Contractor assigned work

On Wednesday, the corporation appointed a contractor to carry out tasks such as removal of the dome at the entrance of the garden, and demolition of dangerous structures. The entire cost of this work is currently being borne by the municipal administration, but it will later be recovered from the BoT contractor. The work to remove hazardous portions is expected to continue until Thursday, said the deputy engineer Sanjay Chamle.

Substandard quality construction

The CSMC had leased the area surrounding the entrance of the garden to a BoT contractor for 99 years. The contractor built shops in that space and, in return, constructed a two-storey parking building for the corporation. The construction was expected to last for 99 years. However, the quality of construction was so poor that the walls around the entrance began collapsing even with minor impact. They didn’t even seem likely to last 99 months. On Wednesday, walls were seen crumbling with just a touch, leaving civic officials shocked at the state of the structure.