BMC orders recast of cracked concrete roads, fines contractor

Mumbai: Following a Hindustan Times report, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday announced that the newly concretised roads in Mahim that had developed cracks would be recast and a penalty would be levied on the contractor.

HT on January 7 had reported that a popular Twitter page called @mumbaimatterz had been tweeting for the past six months about newly built concrete roads in Mahim West developing cracks. The roads department started the construction of these roads in December 2021 and has been doing the concretisation in phases. At least four roads – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Marg, Bhandar Road, Dharmaveer Sambhaji Maharaj Road and MMC Cross Road – which were being concretised developed cracks even before the projects were fully completed.

Additional municipal commissioner (projects) P Velrasu had told HT that his office would check the roads. “They are in the Defect Liability Period, and if the charge is found to be true, we will break panels and recast them,” he had said.

Following the HT report, the chief engineer for roads was instructed by Velrasu to investigate the matter, and core samples were taken of the roads. On Tuesday, Velrasu said that all the panels that had developed cracks would be recast. “An equivalent amount will be levied on the contractor as penalty,” he said.

The exact penalty amount is yet to be ascertained, but Velrasu confirmed that the recasting will be done at the contractor’s cost and not that of the BMC.

BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on September 30, 2022, had presented an action plan for a pothole-free Mumbai before a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand Karnik. The bench was hearing a contempt petition filed by advocate Ruju Thakker subsequent to her PIL on Mumbai’s potholes. Chahal informed the court that of the 2,050 kilometres of roads in Mumbai under the BMC, 990 kilometres had already been concretised while work was on for 265 kilometres.