Thane: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) commissioner Abhijit Bangar on Monday blacklisted a contractor for three years for substandard work on the busiest Ashtavinayak chowk in Kopari.
The Thane civic chief also issued a show cause notice to the officers having supervisory responsibility of this work.
The contractor during three years will be barred from participating in any other tender process of TMC.
TMC's pothole-free drive
The TMC recently has taken up the pothole-free Thane responsibility under the Chief Minister's Changing Thane campaign. Under the campaign the TMC chief has started monitoring the road work and he is making surprise visits to inspect the works.
Bangar said, "Taking into consideration the opinion of experts regarding the technical quality of road works, action will be taken accordingly."
₹1 lakh fine for ever pothole per square meter
The Thane civic chief has already announced that a fine of one lakh rupees will be levied for each pothole (per square meter).The road work has been going on for the last few months at Ashtavinayak chowk at Kopari in Thane East. Local residents complained the TMC chief about the low standard of work.
TMC chief asked the executive engineer who is in charge of the concerned work to inspect it and during the inspection it came to know that the contractor carried out the work without being told. Moreover, the report submitted by the contractor said that the work of repairing has been completed.
Residents complain of shoddy work
The local residents of Kopari kept complaining about the shoddy work and the reason on Monday, February 20 the TMC chief Bangar made a suprise visit to inspect the Ashtavinayak chowk. During his visit the residents pointed about the substandard work and expressed concern about the quality of work. The residents complained to the civic chief that despite several complaints the TMC officials and contractors did not give attention
The work of this road is of mastic type and if the asphalt temperature is not maintained properly in this work, the surface of the road will crumble quickly. However, it is assured that this road can remain pothole-free for at least ten years if technically correct work is done.
The original road in Ashtavinayak chowk was not only damaged, but also not repaired properly. Taking cognizance of this, the said contractor was ordered to disclose the information but he disclosed an unsatisfactory information.
Contractor admits to defective work
The notice was issued to the contractor asking why he should not be blacklisted. In reply to this notice, he admitted that the original work and its repairs were defective.
The TMC administration came to the conclusion that the intention of the contractor in doing this work was not sincere. If the citizens had not complained, the road would not have been repaired. The TMC commissioner Abhijit Bangar ordered blacklisting of the contractor for three years, as well as barring him from participating in other tender processes of the TMC. A show-cause notice was also issued to the officers responsible for the supervision of the work concerned.
The Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has provided a total assistance of Rs 605 crore to the TMC for roads.Therefore, through this action, the municipal administration has warned that no laxity will be tolerated in the road work.
