Shoddy pit job: Engineers, contractors to face action

Following citizens’ complaints about the use of adulterated cold-mix to fill potholes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to initiate action against the road engineers who supervised the work, apart from black-listing the contractors.

Last week, the civic administration received complaints about the use of sawdust in the cold-mix being used by contractors, which has resulted in the resurfacing of the potholes within days.

While confirming that no case of a contractor using sawdust to fill potholes has been reported, G Agarwal, chief engineer of the BMC’s roads department, said the possibility could not be denied.

“Even if a single such case is found, we will initiate action against the engineers who supervised the work,” he added.

Welcoming the BMC’s move, AGNI trustee Shyama Kulkarni said, “Somebody should be held accountable for the shoddy work. The civic body should be alert enough to ensure that blacklisted contractors don’t bid next year using a different name.”

The BMC’s deadline of filling potholes before the Ganesh festival ended on Saturday.