Paver blocks out, surprise road quality checks likely

Mumbai: The BMC’s 2016-17 budget has lined up major policy changes for road works in the wake of a related scam that was unearthed last September. Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, in his budget speech on Wednesday, categorically mentioned that special emphasis will be put on inspection of roads and surprise checks will also be conducted to ensure quality. The BMC has also decided to do away with paver blocks on all municipal roads with immediate effect.
While the total allocation for the road and traffic department in the budget was Rs 4,554.5 crore, a provision of Rs 2,806.8 crore was proposed for improvement of roads in Mumbai. Among the major policy changes in roads, the BMC has proposed to use early-setting concrete to reduce curing time to seven days from 28 at present. This will ensure early completion of road works and reduce traffic disruptions, said Mehta.
After the road works scam, the BMC has also decided to undertake surprise checks to ensure quality of roads. “When civic officials took samples of five recently constructed roads in the city, we found that the road was not laid according to tender specifications given to them by the BMC. The surprise checks will therefore keep road contractors on alert,” said a senior civic official.
The BMC has also decided to do away with paver blocks with immediate effect as these often dislodge and make roads uneven, which is dangerous for both motorists and pedestrians.
Apart from an overhaul in road work policies, major road projects that would get a push include the Goregoan-Mulund Link Road, Mumbai Coastal Road and Ghatkopar Mankhurd Link Road.
“We plan to start work on Phase-I for GMLR by May 2016 and if all clearances are in place, then the Mumbai coastal road work, too, will start by October 2016,” said additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee.
Several flyovers, too, are proposed to be constructed such as the one to connecting S V Road to Linking Road by extending Jogeshwari (south) flyover. Similarly, the flyover will be extended along the JVLR crossing on the Western Express Highway in 2016-17.
A budgetary provision of Rs 2 crore is made for this work. Another flyover is also proposed at Lokhandwala Back Road to Yari Road, Amarnath Tower.
A budgetary provision of Rs 5 crore is made for this work.