Bhopal’s Ambedkar Setu Develops Defects Again; PWD To Recover Entire Repair Cost From Contractor

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Public Works Department (PWD) is going to recover entire repair cost of Ambedkar Setu constructed between Ganesh Mandir and Gayatri Temple from the contractor firm, VKSC Infra Projects Limited. This will be done as per the conditions of the agreement.

Along with actual cost of repair, 20% compensation amount will also be recovered from the firm. For this work, the department will neither allocate separate budget nor it will have to bear any additional financial burden.

The construction of Ambedkar Setu was completed on December 31, 2024. After flyover construction, shortcomings related to bearing coat surfaced and was subsequently repaired by the contractor.

In present rainy season, again shortcomings related to bearing coat and maintenance have been noticed.

During inspection, the drainage spout of the flyover was found choked and a problem related to drainage of rain water was detected.

The firm was asked to rectify the issues within the stipulated time frame but it had not carried out necessary repair works.

To rectify the shortcomings, department floated tender of Rs 4.69 crore. It intended to carry out maintenance work through the performance guarantee amount of the contractor firm.

However, contractor challenged the tender in the High Court, Jabalpur. High Court gave stay on new tender process of PWD and asked the contractor firm to rectify all shortcomings and submit a compliance report of repair works.

In the meantime, PWD also issued a show-cause notice to the firm for blacklisting.