Fix 6,057 potholes in 48 hrs: Maharashtra Government

Fill up 6,057 potholes that dot the city roads within 48 hours   or be prepared to face action, the state government directed the municipal corporation, city’s development agency and the public works department (PWD) on Thursday.

And contractors who do not complete the task on time or violate norms will be blacklisted, the state threatened.
The cost of the entire two-day exercise is expected to cross the Rs100-crore mark.

The state government issued the deadline after being informed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has to fix 6,000 potholes across the city, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) 57, and the PWD assessment is still incomplete.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who held a meeting with city ministers and MLAs,  expressed disappointment over the failure of the nodal agencies on maintaining city roads and their lack of coordination. He urged the department heads to crack down on errant contractors.

“There are 6,000 potholes in Mumbai. Of these, 1,500 are in the island city and 4,500 in the suburbs,” said Naseem Khan, guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs.

While BMC is responsible for fixing most of the potholes in city, the stretches between Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, Santacruz-Chembur  Road fall under the purview of the MMRDA. The eastern and western express highways are maintained by the PWD.

Since last week, Chavan has been receiving several petitions from city MLAs and NGOs complaining about the poor condition of roads.

“Chavan is worried about the rampant corruption which indicates the close nexus between contractors and officers who are bailing them out despite poor work,” said a source from the chief minister’s office, requesting anonymity.

Chavan asked the ministers why contractors were not using long-lasting road repair methods.

The government also rejected the contractors' plea that rains could mar the process of filling up potholes and told them to “make the most of the few hours when the rains stop and expedite the work”.