AMC orders audit of all roads

Furious over the pathetic condition of roads, standing committee chairperson Pravin Patel on Thursday ordered an audit of all roads in the city.

Despite merely two inches of rainfall this season, most roads have given way. “The roads have sustained greater damage compared to last year when we received more rainfall. This means contractors have compromised on quality while carrying out repairs or laying new roads,” said Patel.

Patel said he had asked officials concerned to prepare a list of damaged roads, their guarantee period and the extent of damage. Officials have been given a four-day deadline to submit the list.

For resurfaced roads, a contractor is liable to provide service for one year to three years depending upon the work done. For roads that are more than one km long, the guarantee period is three years, while anything less than that is one year. For newly constructed roads, the guarantee period is five years and for patchwork roads, the guarantee period is one and a half years.

Patel also said in case of recently constructed or repaired roads which had got damaged, contractors would have to repair them free of cost. “We will also take action against the contractors. We will serve a showcause notice to the engineers as their negligence is causing immense inconvenience to citizens,” he said.

After last monsoon, mayor Gautam Shah had written to engineers asking for a similar list, but that list hasn’t seen light of day yet.

When Bhupendra Patel was standing committee chairman, he has asked the engineering department to put up details like when road was made, name of the contractor, how much it cost and guarantee period on a board by the side of the road. But, that never happened.