The AMC, which the chief minister claimed could have finished the CWG project in 2 years, is struggling with its own deadlines
While inaugurating the Isanpur overbridge recently, chief minister Narendra Modi said that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) would be able to do in two years, the work that Delhi has been carrying out since four years, on the Commonwealth Games. Tall claims these are indeed, if one goes by details and statistics of some prime projects in Ahmedabad. While some missed several deadlines before seeing the light of day, there are others which are still awaiting completion.
Interestingly, the list of delayed projects is topped by Modi's pet project - the Sabarmati riverfront development project. When Modi performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the project in 2003, he had wished and announced that the AMC would complete it within 1,000 days of the start, by mid-2007. But three years after they missed the first set of deadlines, the AMC is still struggling to complete the work, with a revised deadline — of December 2010.
The list of delayed projects is endless. The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)'s first 12.5-km stretch, from RTO to Pirana, saw a 14-month delay. The stretch that was slated to be inaugurated in August 2008, was finally thrown open to the masses in October 2009. The Memco sports complex, Raipur sports complex, Wadaj-Dudheswar bridge and housing for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) are some other examples of AMC's attitude towards the completion of projects.
Modi's statement has not gone down well with Surendra Baxi, leader of Opposition in the AMC. Baxi feels that before criticising anyone or making such public statements, Modi should check facts. "There are two dozen civic projects which have been delayed for more than a year each. And when a project is delayed for such a long time, there are manifold disadvantages. Not only are citizens deprived of the services, the project expenditure also increases, which again, is managed by using taxpayers' money," says Baxi.
He says it will be good if AMC officials are sent to Delhi for completing work on the Commonwealth Games, after they learn to complete work within deadlines, in Ahmedabad.
Standing committee chairman in AMC, Asit Vora, who is also a BJP corporator from Modi's election constituency Maninagar, feels that Modi was right when he pointed out Delhi's delayed work on the games. Work on Commonwealth Games and that on city projects, are completely different, he says. "When we work on projects in the city, we have to deal with underground wires, pipelines and sandy soil - which often play a major role in delaying projects. The work on Commonwealth Games wouldn't face such difficulties, and so it is expected of them to not stretch work for four years," he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}