Mumbai: Audit report highlighted only small FOBs dangerous

The chief engineer (vigilance) found gross negligence in structural audit of bridges and foot overbridges in the city which was submitted in August 2018 by D D Desai Associated Engineering Consultants and Analysts. The report stated that 18 bridges and FOBs are in dangerous condition and needs to be demolished and reconstruction.

However, most of the bridges that were dangerous in the report were small FOBs and hardly used by public.

The audit report had stated that 18 of the 296 bridges and FoBs audited are in extremely dilapidated condition and need immediate reconstruction. Of the 18 bridges and FoBs singled out, 14 come under BMC, while the remaining are with other agencies, including the Railways. Some of the these FoBs and bridges are very small and can be reconstructed easily with very less expenditure.

The reason for the delay in the repair work varies from administrative procedures like the general arrangement drawing of some of the bridges to soil investigation of some others. The BMC audit report states, around 110 bridges are in good condition, while 107 need minor repair and 61 bridges need major repair. The civic body spent around Rs 3 crore in conducting the audit.