Road maintenance comes to a halt

Road maintenance comes to a halt

The Hindu

No progress in work outsourced to contractors

# Maintenance of 1,230 km of roads outsourced in November 2003
# Cost of three-year contract is Rs. 16 crores
# Work allotted in 12 packages to 10 contractors
# Most contractors also awarded road asphalting work
# As asphalting is grounded, contractors have stopped maintenance

BANGALORE: In November 2003, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) outsourced maintenance of 1,230 km of roads for three years for over Rs. 16 crores. The idea was to ensure that the roads are free of potholes. But, over a year after the contracts were awarded, there are more potholes on these roads than before.

There has been little progress in the maintenance work as most contractors who were given these packages have also been awarded the road asphalting contracts under the "complete blacktop" project. "As the asphalting project was grounded just after it started (because of escalation in the prices of road building material), these contractors do not seem to show interest in the maintenance of roads," sources in the BMP told The Hindu on Tuesday.

10 contractors involved

The maintenance had been awarded in 12 packages to 10 contractors to fill potholes, restore roads after digging by utility companies, remove debris, clean roadside drains, paint road name boards, desilt shoulder drains and maintain footpaths. According to the agreements signed, the contractors were supposed to survey the entrusted roads every week and take up repairs regularly. The BMP had agreed to pay Rs. 1.35 lakh a kilometre to the contractors for maintaining roads.

But residents of several areas point out that there are potholes even on the main roads. While R. Puroshattam, resident of a Magadi Road locality, said trenches dug by the civic utilities have not been filled properly, Ahmed Faraz of Gurrppanpalya complained of clogged roadside drains. Others said there are potholes on Kodihalli 80 Feet Road in HAL 2nd Stage; near Trinity Circle; on Bhagawan Mahaveer (Infantry) Road; Sampige Road; and cross roads in Malleswaram and Prashanthnagar Main Road.

During the BMP Council meetings in the past two months, corporators from all parties complained that road maintenance has come to a halt in their areas. "Contractors who have been given contracts for fewer number of roads are maintaining a few stretches. But those who have got the contract for maintaining a large number of roads are doing nothing. We could see a few potholes being filled on the inaugural day. But nothing after that," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader in the BMP Council, B.M. Mangala, said.