HC orders supervision of road resurfacing, repairs

October 25, 2013

TNN |

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Thursday asked the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation ( AMC) to form a team to supervise post-monsoon road resurfacing work in the city to ensure that quality standards are maintained as mentioned in the terms of the contract.The court passed this interim order in response to a PIL filed by Ahmedabad Traffic Consultative Committee seeking directions to the authorities for improvement of city roads and for penal action against erring contractors for sub-standard work. The petitioner’s counsel Parth Contractor said that the civic body had sought time till beyond vacation to file a reply but, by then, road repair and resurfacing work would be over. Hence, to ensure that the construction quality does not suffer, the court had passed this interim order.Besides improvement of the condition of city roads and action against contractors and officials, the PIL also demanded immediate cancellation of work orders given to the same contractors whose poor work had been exposed several times. It pointed out that construction and resurfacing of roads are required to be monitored to maintain quality, especially when defaulting contractors have been re-awarded the contracts.

Citing examples of dilapidated roads on various stretches in the city, the PIL has urged the court to ask the Road and Buildings Department to perform its statutory duty so that people do not suffer. It has also requested the court to compel the authorities to publicize details of the contractors, the value of the contract and the project duration in order to bring transparency and accountability in the allotment of contracts.

The PIL has also demanded that a third-party consultant is required in order to monitor and examine the road-worthiness of the newly laid and resurfaced roads of the city.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com