The BJP-led Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been doling out hundreds of work orders for various local developmental and big ticket infrastructure projects in the twin-city.
However, there is little on-site monitoring by the respective MBMC engineers into whether the contractor was using the appropriate materials that are needed according to the structural design so that the construction work be it of drains, roads or any type of amenity development is completed.
Most of the civic construction sites are being carried out without the presence of technically qualified personnel and civil engineers attached to the concerned department which has awarded the tender. Armed with video-graphic evidence, residents of Kanakia in Mira Road have exposed the unsupervised nullah construction work being done without any technical supervision by the contractor or the MBMC engineers.
"Once the concrete is poured in, there is no way to verify whether the construction materials of the right specifications and proper quantity were used. They are literally wasting taxpayers' money by pouring it into the drain", alleged a resident. "The complaints have been noted," remarked municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole.
Notably, the quality of road works undertaken by the private contractors deputed by the civic body is already under the scanner of the engineering wing of the Mumbai-based premier technical establishment--Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) for sub-standard constructions.
This clearly reveals that the civic administration has failed to learn lessons from its past mistakes. While a handful of established contractors tend to follow the codes in conformity with the standards as laid out by the Public Works Department.
Most of the tenders are bagged by a cartel of local contractors at rates much above the scheduled rates. A team from the IIT had recently inspected road construction sites and collected samples for testing parameters to ensure that the work was at par with the prescribed strength standard. However, the reports were still awaited.
