Wednesday, August 11, 2010

1 lakh needed, 27 lakh spent to tar half a km

1 lakh needed, 27 lakh spent to tar half a km
BBMP Gets Road Works Done At Disproportionate Costs
Senthalir S | TNN

Bangalore: Daily revelations of financial impropriety in contracts connected with the Commonwealth Games have blown the lid off expenses overstatements and consequent siphoning of money.
RTI revelations accessed by TOI show that road works in Bangalore are being done at costs that seem totally disproportionate to the actual work executed. Did you know that for asphalting a 500-metre stretch on Gangamma Gudi Road, the BBMP spent a whopping Rs 27 lakh? This, when urban planners say that laying a kilometre of asphalted road should cost just Rs 2 lakh! ‘Asphalting to 4th cross, Shivaram Karanth Road from Maruthi Circle to 3rd main’ — a stretch of ‘6.5 metres’ — cost the BBMP a whopping Rs 49 lakh.
Figures revealed in response to an RTI application filed by SCB Patil, a resident of Bannerghatta Road seeking information on road works carried out from March 2008 to December 2009, are mind-boggling. Asphalting a 1.3-km stretch from Narayanaswamy Circle to Weavers’ Colony dead end via Lakshimpura, Brindhavannagara and Weavers Colony cost Rs 28 lakh. For asphalting to Ramanjaneya Road from Pipeline Road to 13th main Srinagara — a stretch of 400 metres — Rs 25 lakh was paid.
MN Sreehari, adviser to the Karnataka government on traffic, transportation and infrastructure, told TOI it should cost only Rs 2 lakh to asphalt 1 km of road in normal circumstances. The figures mentioned above all are in multiples of that.
NO COORDINATION
RK Misra, co-chairman (infrastructure) at the CII, South, and member, Karnataka government’s empowered committee on infrastructure, says Rs 5 crore was provided for asphalting HAL Airport Road. Within six months, KPTC dug it up. ABIDe has directed BBMP to issue show-cause to engineers. “We are stressing on coordination between civic agencies.”
RTI LAST RESORT
SCB Patil had sought information through RTI on November 11, 2009. Since he did not get a reply, he filed a reminder on December 16, 2009. Later, he filed an appeal to the special commissioner on December 22, 2009. After which he got the reply last week. 43L spent on road humps in one area
Bangalore: Do you know how much money goes to just paint road humps in an area? Rs 43 lakh in Malleswaram while for the same job, the bill in Sadashivanagar was Rs 46.60 lakh. This does not include the cost of constructing the humps.
Consider the irony of this. Most of these humps will now be removed as they are considered unscientific. So, more money will be spent on that. The reply to the RTI application filed by SCB Patil of Bannerghatta Road has revealed that BBMP has sanctioned Rs 42.5 lakh for removal of unscientific road humps in north-east traffic subdivision and Rs 25 lakh in south traffic sub-division.
The sums quoted appear totally over the top. Traffic expert M N Sreehari says: “While Rs 30,000 is required to construct a road hump, Rs 3,000 is enough to remove one.’’
RK Misra, co-chairman (infrastructure) at the CII, South, and member, Karnataka government’s empowered committee on infrastructure, says that construction of humps in itself is unscientific. “In many places, the contractors have constructed road humps heeding the demands of residents without taking permission from BBMP. Hence, the contractors should pay for the removal of road humps and not use taxpayers’ money for this.’’
WORKS FOR A COST 1. Improvement of footpath and asphalting of Adi Kabir Ashram Road (CK Road to JC Nagar main road): Rs 30 lakh. 2. Providing and fixing direction and place identification signs with size more than 0.9sqm signboard, barricading tape, traffic safety vest at underpass near BDA office junction: Rs 4.81 lakh 3. Asphalting to Vidyapeetha Circle to CT Bed Road for a stretch of 7.5 km: Rs 47 lakh 4. Providing raised pavement marker, enamel painting to Hebbal flyover from 7-8 km, median painting, median marker from 14-27km and road furniture to 26-27km along the international airport corridor:
Rs 23.5 lakh 5. Providing raised pavement marker along the international airport corridor from 8-22km: Rs 25 lakh 6. Providing raised pavement marker for 5km and thermo plastic painting from High Grounds to Windsor Manor along the international airport corridor: Rs 25 lakh 7. Providing thermo plastic painting along the international airport corridor for 5km on LHS and 7km on RHS: Rs 25 lakh 8. Construction of bus bay at JP Nagar going towards city, KNS technical College (Tirumanahalli) towards extension, KNS technical college (Tirumanahalli) towards city, Lalbagh West Gate towards Jayanagar:
Rs 22 lakh 9. Construction of bus bays at Marathahalli near bridge, Heggadenagar towards extension, Heggadenagar towards city, Sarayipalya (Vidyanagara) towards extension: Rs 23 lakh 10. Road furniture (benches, electric poles) for intersections from Kodihalli to Airport Trumpet along the international airport corridor: Rs 23.5 lakh 11. Cast-in-situ RCC median of 0.5 metre height in Kanakapura Road, MN Rao Parl Road, Jayanagar 11th main: Rs 24.5 lakh

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