A year on, the BMC has, so far, managed to concretise just 30% of 324 km of roads under phase 1. Meanwhile, the civic body has not yet issued work orders for the concretisation of 312 km of roads covered under phase 2 of the ambitious project.
To expedite the snail-paced works after monsoon, the civic body has devised a special plan, aiming to wrap up the project between October 2024 and May 2025. Furthermore, the involvement of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has been secured to ensure stringent quality control.
To rid the city of potholes, which surface every year during rains, the BMC planned to concretise 1,050 km of roads out of 2,050 km network (the remaining 1,000 km has already been concreted). In 2023, tenders worth Rs6,080 crore were awarded to five firms, marking the largest civic contract to date.
However, the Rs1,600 crore contract for roads in the island city, initially awarded to Roadways Solution Infra India Ltd, was later terminated as it didn't start work for eight months after the issuance of work orders. Currently, negotiations are underway with the lowest bidder, who has quoted 9% above the estimated rate. As of June 10, only 30% of the concretisation work has been completed in the eastern and western suburbs.
Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (projects), said, “With no road work scheduled during monsoon, a special plan has been devised to expedite the remaining work between October 2024 and May 2025. Additionally, the phase 2 work is expected to be finalised within the next 15 days.” He further said that to ensure quality, core tests are being conducted on every under-construction route, while the BMC plans to engage the IIT-B for third-party audits.
An official is appointed to oversee the quality of concrete at ready mix plants. If the quality of any road is found to be below standard then the contractor and the quality assurance supervisor will be held accountable, Bangar added.
The first core tests were conducted on two roads in Andheri and Vile Parle in the western suburbs during the first week of July.
