Contractors cheated BMC out of crores
October 19, 2013
Hemali Chhapia & Bhavika Jain, TNN
MUMBAI: An internal audit by the BMC of its road and traffic department has revealed that in many road projects standard procedures were not followed, rules ignored and costs escalated beyond permissible limits.In one instance, the civic corporation paid Rs 9.7 crore above the contract cost of Rs 121.7 crore for the construction of a road overbridge in Jogeshwari. The contractor argued the fatter bill by claiming price escalations. But why the civic body consented is unknown given that, as per rules, the maximum price variation can be 5% of the contract cost-—which in this case comes to Rs 6.1 crore.
RTI activist Vihar Durve demanded strict action against errant officers. “Compliance with earlier inspection reports is pending. For 1996-97 and 2000-01 periods, no explanation has been furnished on why undue benefit accrued to contractors. In many cases, final bills have not been submitted. Such tardiness is unacceptable,” said Durve. Some officials conceded that departments ignore auditors’ remarks and do not take corrective action. Additional municipal commissioner S V R Srinivas, who is in charge of the roads department , said on Friday that he cannot comment on the inspection report until he reads it.
Others, however, argued against the specific points in the audit. They said that contractors are paid extra for transportation of debris, despite the job being part of their contracts, if the distance from the work site to the dumping ground is high. Also, they said, roads dug up by multiple utility agencies can be rebuilt within their guarantee period.
CBD roads to stay good for 10 yrs
October 19, 2013
TNN |
The roads selected for upgradation are Cunningham Road, Mallya Hospital Road, Commissariat Road, St Mark’s Road, Residency Road, Richmond Road and Museum Road.
ALL-ROUND PLANNING
* Contractors to upgrade roads, take care of utilities like cables, pipelines
* Stringent measures to ensure work quality
* Independent authority to monitor road works
* Space for pedestrians, cyclists
* Road status to last for at least 10 years
Times View
It’s a grandiose plan: seven arterial city roads will be turned into showpiece streets. The cabinet has marked them out and set aside a huge sum for the project, and also placed the onus of maintenance on the contractor. These are roads which give Bangalore its reputation, so it’s imperative that they have enough space for the cyclist and pedestrian. While it’s good that the roads come with a guarantee of 10 years, it remains to be seen whether the plan will be followed up with solid action.
Worli-Sewri elevated corridor: Five companies submit bids
October 19, 2013
Express News Service : Mumbai,
The plan for an elevated road between Worli and Sewri to boost east-west connectivity in the island city got a boost Friday, with five engineering companies submitting bids for construction of the corridor.
The companies that have submitted bids for the 4.5-km elevated road are Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Construction Company, Gammon India, Simplex Infrastructure and National Construction Company.
“We have opened the technical bids. We will need around two weeks to evaluate the proposals after which we will open the financial tenders. The evaluation of the financial bids will take another two weeks,” said an official from MMRDA.
The construction of the Worli-Sewri elevated road, which will cost around Rs 490 crore, is likely to begin early next year and will take nearly four years to be completed. The project will require the rehabilitation of around 800 families living along the alignment of the road. The corridor will begin at Narayan Hardikar Marg in Worli and end near Sewri railway station.
MMRDA had originally planned the Worli-Sewri corridor primarily as a connector to the showpiece Sewri-Nhava Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) for traffic to make the sea-link across the Mumbai harbour accessible to the western suburbs. However, the 22-km harbour link project saw a setback earlier this year when not even a single company responded to MMRDA’s call for price bids to construct the harbour link in public private partnership mode, though five consortia were shortlisted.
MMRDA has decided to go ahead with the elevated road project, as it could benefit the city even as a standalone project.
3 flyovers to reduce traffic on GB road
October 19, 2013
Manoj Badgeri, TNN |
THANE: If all goes according to the plan, then the Ghodbunder stretch could find three more flyovers at Anand Nagar, Kasarwadawli and Ovala junctions.The plan apparently is to pave way for outbound traffic towards Borivli. and also make the stretch free for movement of city-traffic.
The proposal will soon be presented to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for its implementation.
A delegation, including Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik and MP Dr Sanjeev Naik, met the deputy chief minister to highlight the demands of Thane city last Tuesday. The meet was atended by MMRDA metropolitan commissioner U P S Madaan and MSRDC officials. MSRDC officials said that the proposal was floated by the guardian minister and they are yet to finalise it. “The flyovers will roughly cost around Rs 75 crore. Each of these flyovers would be around 150m long with four lanes (two lanes on each side).
“There is a long standing demand for these flyovers in the area that witnesses severe traffic snarls,” said MP Dr Sanjeev Naik, who was present at the meeting. Presently, there are three flyovers over busy junctions at Manpada, Patlipada and Waghbil. that cut down travel time of outbound traffic considerably as they bypass these choc-a-bloc junctions.
Residents and motorists said the same will ease traffic considerably.
“Once you cross the Majiwada junction, travelling is comfortable. The problem starts only from Anand Nagar to Ovala where traffic has to halt at signals,” said Bhavesh Shah, who travels to Bhayender for work daily.
Dr Dnyandev Daki who stays at Kasarvadavli said the stretch is prone to heavy traffic during the peak hours. “With heavy traffic criss crossing the stretch, local residents are inconvenienced. It takes considerable time to cross the signal and reach home. A flyover here would greatly ease the congestion,” he says.
Rakhi Patil, another resident said an elevated road right from Anand Nagar to Ovala would also greatly help free the stretch for local traffic. “The city is expanding and one needs space to accommodate local vehicles on the roads,” she said.
The long standing proposal was presented by Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik at a meeting with the deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
“I will follow up with the chief minister for fast implementation of these projects,” said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
NHAI to take call on Gurgaon-Jaipur toll
October 19, 2013
NEW DELHI: A month after National Highways Authority of India moved a proposal to suspend tolling on the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch, the authority’s board is likely to consider the plan on Tuesday. The board has representation from highways and finance ministries besides the Planning Commission.Sources said the proposal was included in the agenda since the road transport and highways ministry had advised NHAI to first take the matter to the board. The ministry was of the opinion that suspension of toll till expansion work was completed would impact finances of the project and the issue should be considered in detail by the board. “Once the board approves the proposal, the matter will be referred to the highways ministry for order,” a source said.
NHAI in its earlier note to the ministry sought in-principle approval to suspend toll on all delayed projects where tolling was allowed even during construction phase. It had cited the example of the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 where widening work missed several deadlines. TOI had run a series of articles highlighting commuters’ woes, who not only pay toll but also face traffic jams.
NHAI had said that in case private developers fail to maintain the stretches properly and miss completion targets despite land availability, the authority was empowered to take over the stretch and collect toll. But since this would not bring relief to road users, who would still have to pay toll for travelling through substandard and congested stretches, NHAI suggested stopping toll collection as a deterrent for consistent defaulters. “Since the contract agreement does not have a provision of suspending toll, we have sought permission from the ministry. This is a public interest issue,” an NHAI official had told TOI. Among other works that have missed several deadlines is the Panipat-Jalandhar six-laning project.
NHAI land acquisition up 51%
October 19, 2013
MAMUNI DAS
Invests Rs 3,000 cr to buy 5,000 hectares in first half of 2013-14
NEW DELHI|
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) may have seen a slow down in awarding projects, but its land acquisition activity has picked up.
In the first half of 2013-14, NHAI acquired almost 5,000 hectares, which is 51 per cent more than the 3,300 hectares it bought in the same period last year.
Land in possession is a parameter that indicates the level of preparedness of NHAI for awarding projects.
The land acquired will be used for projects already awarded by NHAI and those that are yet to be awarded. However, the official did not share details whether a larger part of land acquisition was for future road projects or to meet the NHAI’s obligations for land acquisition last year.
“In the first six months of 2013-14, we had about 5,000 hectares in possession and 5,600 hectares with 3D notification, which is the stage when land vests with NHAI,” said a senior NHAI official, declining to be identified. Possession is the final level of land acquisition, and comes after land is vested with NHAI.
In 2012-13, the level of land in possession was 6,800 hectares, which is lower than the current fiscal and in 2011-12. NHAI got 6,800 hectare of land in possession and 8,000 hectare in 3D stage.
Since land acquisition is a continuous activity with multiple layers of interaction with land owners and State Government officials, it would be difficult to pinpoint any specific reason for the activity slowing down last fiscal (2012-13) purely from a ‘taking possession’ perspective, the official said.
EXPENSES
In terms of expenses, NHAI spent Rs 3,000 crore in the first-half of 2013-14 for land acquisition, while it had spent Rs 1,400 crore in the same period last year.
However, the official declined to comment on any average price for land, pointing out that there are wide price variations depending on the area where land is acquired.
In 2012-13, NHAI spent about Rs 4,500-4,600 crore to acquire land, while in fiscal 2011-12, the highway body spent Rs 5,000 crore.
The impact of the recent Land Acquisition Bill on NHAI is not yet clear, as the National Highways Act was out of the purview of the Bill.
Meanwhile, NHAI, which has awarded 500-600 km of highways for development on engineering procurement contract (EPC) basis, expects to award 2,000 km of highways by March.
EPC contracts are road development projects which are entirely Government-funded.
By March 2014, actual work on ground would have begun for the development of 1,500 km of highways, NHAI Chairman R.P. Singh told Business Line.
“Now, we are only awarding highway projects for which we already have 90 per cent land possession,” said Singh.
This is unlike the earlier years when projects were awarded without enough land in place.
CHANGES COURSE
This year, both Highway Ministry and NHAI have changed course away from public-private partnership contracts, after they did not receive any response from highway developers.
Source-http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
India, China to sign road pact during PM’s visit
October 19, 2013
Moushumi Das Gupta , Hindustan Times
Impressed with China’s highways infrastructure and superior standards for construction and maintenance, a bilateral pact on cooperation in the road transportation sector is set to be signed between the two countries during PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to China next week.
At 65,000 km China has world’s second largest network of expressways. So far, however, China has a limited presence in India’s highway sector. Only six Chinese companies, under joint ventures with Indian firms, are involved in building highways. All six companies have participated and won the bids for the projects.
The broad area where India wants to seek cooperation includes management of road infrastructure technology, standards for highway construction and maintenance, road safety intervention strategies aimed at reducing death and injuries resulting from road accidents, etc. India also wants to know more on how China has dealt with contractual issues and financing of highways build in public private partnership mode.
PIL seeks action on bad Ahmedabad roads
October 18, 2013
TNN |
AHMEDABAD: A PIL was filed in Gujarat high court seeking that the government be directed to improve the condition of roads in the city and take action against contractors for sub-standard work. The PIL also demanded immediate cancellation of work orders given to contractors whose poor construction standards have been exposed.A city-based group – Ahmedabad Traffic Consultative Committee – filed this PIL through advocate Parth Contractor, and sought the HC’s intervention to address “the never-ending woes of potholes and cave-ins” in the city. He argued that construction and resurfacing of roads are required to be monitored to maintain quality. He also contended that contractors, who have been held as defaults in the past, are being re-awarded resurfacing contracts and this results in a wastage of public money.
The PIL called on the Roads and Buildings Department to perform its statutory duty so the public doesn’t suffer poor road conditions.
It demanded penal action against contractors who use sub-standard materials. It also requested the court to compel authorities to publicize details of contractors, values of contracts and project durations to help bring transparency and accountability to the tendering process.
The PIL also demanded that a third-party consultant be required to monitor and examine quality of newly laid and resurfaced roads in the city.
The petitioner cited examples of dilapidated roads in city areas – the newly constructed flyover in Ellisbridge, the patch from Manav Mandir to Helmet circle etc – to highlight how recently resurfaced roads deteriorate in brief spells of rain. The PIL contended that malpractices of adhering to construction norms continue because authorities take a soft approach towards defaulting contractors, and no penal action is taken.
The court asked the petitioner to give copies of the petition to all concerned parties and scheduled a further hearing for next week.
Nation’s longest bus corridor opened, named after Vajpayee
October 18, 2013
TNN |
BHOPAL: India’s longest Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) corridor was inaugurated in Bhopal on Friday and named after BJP patriarch, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Marg. The 24-km corridor was opened by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Union urban development minister Kamal Nath, who was expected to launch the first Mybus, did not turn up.Bhopal Mayor Krishna Gaur sought naming of the corridor after Vajpayee in her inaugural speech. Minutes later, Chouhan made the announcement.
The lone Congress MLA in Bhopal, Arif Aqueel, boycotted the function as the party wanted the corridor named after former President, Shankar Dayal Sharma, who was born in Bhopal. After opening the BRTS, Chouhan went on an inauguration spree to beat the model code deadline. He launched projects of Rs 400 crore, which included a multilevel parking at Ibrahimpura, the Bhopal-Indore Volvo bus service, MyBus depot at Sant Hirdaram Nagar.
Speaking at the occasion, Chouhan blasted the Centre for inflation even as his government was providing “low-cost public transport”.
He also elaborated on the developmental works done by BJP government. “When Congress was in power, only Rs 5 crore would be earmarked for roads. Now more than Rs 2000 crore have been spent on road development,” he said.
He also promised to develop colonies for migrant rural workers to regularise old illegal colonies. The CM also granted Rs 15 crore to BMC for maintenance and functioning of BRTS corridor. Mayor-in-council member K M Soni said the zonal plan for AIIMS, New Market and Bairagarh was in the offing. “Bairagarh zonal plan would be unveiled next year,” he said.
TR-3 was among the buses unveiled on Friday which would cover the entire BRTS corridor from Misrod to Bairagarh. 26 AC buses were added to the existing fleet of low-floor buses bringing the total number to 225 buses operated along various routes in the city.
The 24-km long corridor would take around an hour in the dedicated corridor and the fare would be Rs 26, Soni said.
Protesters disrupt toll collection across Kolhapur
October 18, 2013
TNN |
KOLHAPUR: Collection at the nine toll plazas across the city was disrupted on Thursday as members of the Kolhapur Anti-Toll Committee (KATC) staged protests and formed human chains to stop road construction company, Ideal Road Builders (IRB), from taking the charges from road users.The toll collection resumed at two plazas after protesters dispersed in the afternoon but was suspended again after they returned.
In September, the Bombay high court had directed the district police to provide security at the toll plazas. Official sources said around 700 policemen, along with 150 security personnel from the State Reserve Police Force, were deployed at sensitive points in the city and at all the nine toll plazas.
A senior Kolhapur police official said the IRB employees had been instructed by their superiors not to take any action against the protesters during Thursday’s agitations. “Several senior leaders from all political parties participated in the protests and we felt it was not advisable for the IRB staff to collect toll,” he said.
A couple of hundred protesters, most of them from the rural parts of the district, had gathered at the Shiroli toll plaza. Addressing the protesters here, N D Patil, veteran leader and president of the Peasants and Workers Party, said, “The state government has deployed a huge police force to crush this agitation. But we will not be deterred by this. We will not allow the IRB to collect toll.”
The other toll plazas are located at Shiye, Kagal Naka, Sarnobatwadi, Phulewadi, Kalamba, Puikhadi, Uchgaon and R K Nagar.
Chandradip Narke, Shiv Sena MLA from Karvir, led the protest at the Phulewadi toll plaza, which was burnt down during the agitation in May 2013. Around 600 people participated in the protests here.
“People from the rural parts of the district, who commute to the city everyday, have been severely inconvenienced by the toll collection. The poor from the rural areas should not be made to pay toll for roads that are meant for people living in the cities. Despite the issue being raised in the legislative assembly, the state government has kept silent on this issue. Toll has been imposed on Kolhapur due to a nexus between some of the ruling leaders and the IRB,” Narke alleged.
Sadashiv Mandalik, MP, said, “The toll collection process, if allowed, will go on for 30 years according to the agreement. We should try to resist every attempt to collect toll.”
KATC member Baba Indulkar demanded the arrest of the IRB employees, saying they were supporting “illegal work” carried out by the company. “We had filed a criminal complaint against the IRB, which is responsible for the poor quality of roads and for posing a danger to people’s lives. If the police do not arrest them, the public can do so and hand them over to the police. We arrested Vijay Patil, an employee at the Kagal toll plaza, and handed him over to the police inspector of Rajarampuri,” he said.
When several protesters dispersed after 1 pm, the IRB employees started collecting toll at Kagal (from 10 vehicles) and Uchgaon (three vehicles). However, when the protesters got wind of this, they returned to these plazas and the toll collection was discontinued.
Meanwhile, the IRB has issued a public notice, stating that toll collection would be beneficial for the development of the city. The notice states that the company had moved the Bombay HC due to delays in toll collection because of protests by some city-based organizations, who had “spread misconceptions” about the IRB project.
The IRB notice reads: “Toll collection is important since the internal roads of the city will be maintained for the next 30 years through the revenue earned in this process. The HC had given its directive after it studied our stand; we have completed over 95% of the road construction work. The company has submitted a Rs 25-crore bank guarantee with the district collector as a security deposit for completing the remaining 5% of the work.”
Timeline of the agitation
July 2008: Agreement between Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, Ideal Road Builders and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to construct 49.99 km of roads in the city at an expense of Rs 220 crore
November 2008: Agitation by social workers on the issue of utility shifting
January 2011: IRB claims completion of construction of the roads
December 2011: State government floats gazetteer allowing IRB to collect toll
January 2012: KATC opposes the state government’s order. Three weeks of mass agitation is followed by the burning down of booths at seven of the nine toll plazas
March 2012: State government constitutes a three-member committee to check the quality of roads built by IRB
December 2012: Chief secretary of state Jayantkumar Banthia allows IRB to collect toll
March 2013: The committee submits its report to the state government
April 2013: KATC opposes the report and gears up for agitation, burning down three toll booths across the city
May 2013: The state government revokes the stay on the proposed toll collection
May 25, 2013: KATC once again launches agitations. Protest at Shiroli toll booth, heavy lathicharge by police administration. Violent mob vandalises three toll booths at Shiroli, Phulewadi, Bawda
July 7, 2013: The anti-toll committee organises a rally against the state government’s decision to revoke the stay on toll
September 26, 2013: The HC directs the district police administration to provide security to IRB for toll collection
October 17, 2013: KATC forms human chain across the city to stop the toll collection
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