Potholes: Execute work on a war footing, Prithviraj Chavan tells MMRDA, BMC

Admitting that the condition of the city roads was 'serious', Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today said he had directed the BMC and MMRDA to complete on a war footing the task of filling potholes and repairing damaged roads.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Chavan said the concerned authorities have been asked to keep a tab on the quality of work provided by the contractors.

"Strict action will be taken against guilty contractors," Chavan said, adding a separate cadre for road repairs and maintenance is being considered with a view to helping maintain quality of the work.

"Contractors should have a laboratory wherever their hot mix plant is set up so that the materials can be tested by government and civic officials before use," he added.

Chavan, however, said it would be difficult to fix a deadline for filling potholes.

"If traffic police permits and if there is no major traffic problem, the filling work can be done daily between 12 noon to 14pm," the CM said.

The meeting also discussed about adopting new technologies that can be used  for repairing roads and filling potholes, he added.