Contractor abandons work on flyover projects

Contractor abandons work on flyover projects
The Hindu

BANGALORE, FEB. 26. Work on two major flyover projects in Bangalore — one on the Airport Road and the other at the intersection of the Ring Road-Bannerghatta Road (Jayadeva Flyover) — have come to a halt with the contractor virtually abandoning the work site after making a vain bid to "arm twist" the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) into accepting the demand for an enhanced payment on grounds of escalating costs of steel and cement.

The construction sites resemble a haunted area with the heavy machinery and steel lying all over the place and none to take care of them.

This is in stark contrast to the feverish construction activity at the two sites only a few weeks ago.

Sources in the BDA told The Hindu here today that owing to the poor performance of the contractor and the frequent demands for enhancement of rates, the authority decided to invoke certain provisions in the contract to call off the agreement.

New contractor

A notice has been served on the contractor and the latter has said that the project can be completed only if the BDA agrees to pay an additional Rs. 11.5 crores for the two projects. The BDA has reportedly decided to re-tender the two projects and the work order for the new contractor is likely to be issued in a month.

Residents of Indiranagar and the HAL area in the proximity of the Airport Road flyover project and the residents of Jayanagar and J.P. Nagar in the vicinity of the Bannerghatta Road flyover project who have been hit hard by the slow movement of motor traffic have to bear with the BDA for a few more months. Unlike the other projects, which were hit by paucity of funds, here is a case of the BDA being flush with funds but being let down by a contractor who has been paid promptly soon after a given piece of work was completed. The contractor is the Uttar Pradesh State Bridges Corporation (UPSBC), which is an agency of the Uttar Pradesh Government.

This is not the first time that the UPSBC has brought the construction to a halt.

Soon after the coalition Government took charge and was under pressure to upgrade the road infrastructure in Bangalore, the UPSBC stopped work on all the three flyover projects, including the Bangalore Dairy-Bannerghatta Road intersection which has since been completed.

The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, after protracted discussions agreed to pay an additional Rs. 5.5 crores for the three projects. The sources pointed out that the UPSBC has reportedly bungled with the two projects.

Merely to obtain the work, the government agency allegedly under quoted to an extent of around Rs. 8 crores in the national tender that was floated by the BDA.

In the case of the dairy flyover project, which was commissioned in November last, the UPSBC was realistic, the sources said.

The airport road project, which comprises the main flyover to link the Indiranagar main road and the inner Ring Road, four loops and four grade level roads, was tendered for Rs. 27.5 crores and the Jayadeva flyover, including the underpass, for Rs. 17.56 crores.

The main flyover near the Jayadeva Hospital was inaugurated recently.

The flyover arm to link the Bannerghatta Road with the main flyover is yet to be completed.

Completion

The BDA authorities have promised that the two flyover projects, irrespective of the difficulties being encountered with the contractor, will be completed in about seven months.

The BDA has apparently sounded some other big contractors who have agreed to undertake the remaining part of the work.