Mumbai Road Concretisation: BMC Rejects Faulty Concrete Batch, Mandates Strict Slump Tests

During a recent inspection of road concretisation work, senior civic officials found that the concrete's "slump" value exceeded the standard, indicating an overly fluid mix. Since this can compromise the concrete's strength and durability, after consulting the experts of the Indian Institute of technology (IIT) Bombay, the BMC rejected the faulty batch and sent the delivery truck back. Notices were also issued to the contractors and Quality Control Agency (QCA) to explain their actions and clarify the corrective measures to be taken.

To ensure concrete quality, the BMC has made the "Slump Test" mandatory at both the Ready-mix concrete plant (RMC) and work sites. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar inspected the concretisation of Nitu Mandke Marg in Mankhurd-Agrawadi village and Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati Marg in Chembur. During the inspection on Thursday night, a slump test revealed unsatisfactory results, leading to the rejection of the concrete batch and the RMC vehicle being sent back. Subsequently, a new mix was ordered, and the concretisation work resumed.

After consulting prof of IIT, it was noted that transportation from the RMC plant to the work site could take 30 to 90 minutes. In light of this, contractors were instructed to prepare three concrete mix designs. "The travel time should be checked on Google, and based on that, the appropriate mix design should be chosen to ensure concrete quality is maintained upon arrival," said Bangar. He also directed civic officials to issue a detailed circular on this. "While road works are underway, engineers are expected to be actively involved at the site, not only from a technical standpoint but also by participating in various tests and ensuring quality work based on their experience," he added. 

Civic officials also inspected Yashwant Nagar-Chembur after receiving complaints about road works. Bangar reviewed the pre-cast concrete road at the Godrej complex in Vikhroli and directed discussions with IIT experts to evaluate its feasibility for municipal road construction. The inspection was attended by IIT professors P. Vedgiri and Solomon Dibbarty, BMC's Deputy Commissioner (Infrastructure) Shashank Bhore, and QCA representatives.