The civic road contractors’ lobby has ensured that the long-lasting carboncor technology is not used to fill potholes in spite of a Bombay high court order.
The civic road contractors’ lobby has ensured that the long-lasting carboncor technology is not used to fill potholes in spite of a Bombay high court order and a recommendation by the Statutory Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to use it.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) introduced the African technology four years ago to fill potholes. In 2007, it tested the same on a few stretches in the city and the suburbs. The STAC, too, had recommended that the technology be used on a trial basis.
Though the technology proved to be a long-lasting solution for potholes, road contractors have not been using the material. A cartel of contractors manipulated the inspection and got the material rejected. To protect the contractors’ interest, engineers from the road department have decided to make the use of the technology optional. Cold bitumen and carboncor are the options to fill potholes on roads.
All road contractors use cold bitumen to fill potholes. “Cold bitumen washes away after a single spell of rain. Contractors then get an opportunity to keep filling the potholes and submit a fat bill to the department. This is why they prefer not to use carboncor,” said an official from the road department.
Interestingly, the carboncor material used by carboncor’s Indian supplier Sumer Infrastructure on Maharshi Karve Road in Marine Lines and on Marine Drive four years ago is still intact.
“If implemented properly, the technology can ensure that city roads remain in a good condition for the next few years,” said an officer, requesting anonymity. “But the civic administration and the corporators need to have the will for that. The syndicate of contractors also tries to prevent the civic administration from using long-lasting methods which are in the interest of the city.”
Standing committee chairman Rahul Shevale has written a letter to the municipal commissioner. In this, he had demanded that contractors be made to forfeit their deposits and an FIR be filed against them.
“This year, the BMC has repaired 1,200 stretches of roads, and these are full of potholes. It is the contractors’ responsibility to fill the potholes, as the stretches are under the guarantee period. But they are not doing what is required of them. The BMC should therefore take action against them,” he said.
Every year, the BMC tries a new technique to fill potholes on an experimental basis. This year, too, it is planning to use the ‘patch master’ technology to fill potholes.
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