Ahmedabad: Corruption makes your ride bumpier than ever

If the city’s roads are trickier than the roller-coasters, Amdavadis have mustered well the art of balancing and with hardly any ‘good road’ left for the citizens. Now, with roads washed away anew with fresh rains, commoners feel like going on a venture ride, every time they step out of their homes.

However, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials have many reasons and explanations for the pathetic condition of the city roads though there is hardly any denial that corruption also adds its bit to make it more pitiable.

Even a senior office-bearer of the ruling BJP in AMC testified the fact that corruption is certainly one of the major reasons for roads’ failing health. Not only the political parties, but the civic body’s audit department too has pointed out a number of glaring irregularities in road building and resurfacing works in its reports.

As per the rules, the contractor is supposed to pay 5% of the tender amount upfront or it is retained from the running bill as performance bond. However, the audit department found out that in many of these cases the performance bond was not taken.

As a result of this, the contractor does not care to maintain the road and it also affects the construction quality of the road. For example, the engineering department did not take performance bond for BDM work of different roads in Naroda Muthiya, Kubernagar, Saijpur and Thakkarbapanagar. The audit report has pointed out financial irregularities of more than Rs18 crore in road resurfacing projects in five different wards of the new west zone.

The department has pointed out that in a road widening and resurfacing project from Sarkhej overbridge to Fatehwadi Approach, the engineering department made payment for 25.7 metric tonne; this when the bill showed purchase of just 12.9 metric tonne. This is just one of the many such incidents highlighted by the audit department.

For example, the contractor purchased 14.720 metric tonne bitumen from Essar on January 23, 2010, with bill no 210046. But the measurement book record shows that the department also paid for 38.282 metric tonne bitumen on the same bill. It shows that appropriate quantity of material was not used for building and resurfacing. Badruddin Shaikh, leader of opposition in AMC, said:

“The AMC officials, BJP leaders and contractors work hand in gloves so it is nothing but foolishness to expect good quality roads,” said Shaikh.

Another Congress corporator Surendra Baxi said: “CG Road was built with proper monitoring, so it hasn’t got washed away,” said Baxi. M Thennarasan, deputy municipal commissioner of AMC’s engineering department, said that respective zones are inquiring into the irregularities.

“However, we are setting up strong monitoring system to ensure quality,” said he.