CAG report nails BDA slip-ups on Airport Road flyover

CAG report nails BDA slip-ups on Airport Road flyover
Vijay TImes

IF only the officials of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had been a little more careful, they could have saved Rs 9.11 crore of the tax payers money from being squandered.

This is the conclusion that one can draw after going through the observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that were recorded in a report released recently.

THE GAINERS

Apart from causing inconvenience to the public for more than three years by not completing the Airport Road Flyover project on time, the BDA has done the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC), the contractors who had been assigned the task of constructing the flyover, a favour by releasing an extra amount.

The delay in completing the project had put scores of people, using the Airport Road stretch, to hardship. Traffic jams had become the order of the day here.

SOIL TEST FAILS

Interestingly, a slew of ‘mistakes’ were committed even before the project commenced.

The BDA, in a letter written to the CAG, has accepted that it had failed to obtain a soil investigation report that was mandatory before commencing work on the Airport Road Flyover.

The soil test report was received on December 13, 2002, while the tenders were invited on November 4, 2002 itself.

It was a lump sum contract and the contractor was to design the project while the BDA was to supply the design parameters based on the soil investigation report.

The BDA had released complete funds as consultancy fee to the consultants, even before the work was completed.

According to norms, the number of trial bores taken during soil investigation should be 55. However, only 17 were taken.

"The Bore test is done to ascertain the quality of soil at different places and at different depths," the report pointed out.

The BDA had invited tenders and awarded the contract to the UPSCB for Rs 26.69 crore.

BACKGROUND

Work began on February 1, 2003 and was to be completed by April 2004. The BDA officials failed to monitor the execution. Though the deadline was extended by 14 months, the BDA failed to levy penalty for slow progress.

However, in February 2005, it terminated the contract for slow progress. The company contested the move in the High Court and following a court order, the BDA executed a supplementary agreement in August 2005.

GRAVE ERRORS

Unnecessarily, it had paid an extra Rs 9.11 crore to the company and extended the deadline till June 2006, the report said.

Also, the BDA had paid Rs 67.21 lakh fee as against the proportionate payment of Rs 37.21 lakh to the project consultant of Airport Road and Jayadeva hospital flyovers.

BDA admits spending an extra Rs 9.11 cr by missing Airport Road and Jayadeva Hospital flyovers

Fluctuation in project cost since its inception

Original contract value Rs 26.69 crore Revised contract value Rs 35.80 crore Increase in cost Rs 9.11 crore

Mistakes admitted

In its reply, the BDA has given an undertaking to a mistake in the selection of the contractor. The selected in relaxation of the eligibility criteria was owned by the Government of Uttar Pradesh," it To the observation that it had made disproportiona the consultant, the BDA said: "We accept the lapse corrected in future projects."

Technical details of the project

lThe main flyover along Intermediate Ring Road Indiranagar 80 ft road with a 2-lane divided carriage way (width of carriage way 5.50 mts)

lLength - 1,658.82 mts

l3 loops to turn freely from Airport Road to Indiranagar 80 ft Road, Intermediate Ring Road to Airport Road and Airport Road to IRR.

l2 grade level bridges to provide left turning from Domlur to Indiranagar and Indiranagar to Airport.

lDesign speed 25 kmph

lStarted on February 1, 2003 and to be inaugurated on July 12.