Mumbai: The BMC awarded a contract to M/s SP Singla Construction private limited to construct three bridges as a part of the Goregaon-Mulund Link road(GMLR) project in January 2022. While the bridges are expected to be ready in 36 months, only 20% of the work has been completed in the last 17 months.
However, instead of pulling the contractor, the senior civic officials are shielding them, alleged Ravi Raja, the former Congress corporator and opposition leader in the civic body.
In a letter written to Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, Raja demanded an inquiry into the work carried out by the said company which had also been constructing the bridge on the Ganga river in Bihar that collapsed on June 4.
Construction plan allotted to company in 2022
The work for construction of the elevated road at Khindipada, Mulund, and six-lane flyovers at Ratnagiri Chowk, Goregaon and at Dr Hedgewar Chowk has been allotted to the said company on January 14, 2022.
The estimated cost of the work is around ₹584.27 crore and was expected to be completed in three years. In his letter, Ravi Raja said, “M/s SP Singla should have completed 40% of the work in a one and half year period. It has only completed 20% of the work and the BMC has already paid ₹13.50 crore to them. The incident of a bridge collapse in Bihar shows the substandard quality of work carried out by the said company. The civic body should get a report of the incident from the state government of Bihar and conduct an inquiry into the company by the vigilance department.”
BMC should immediately revoke these contracts: Raja
"If the work of these bridges is found to be substandard, the BMC should immediately revoke the contracts and blacklist the company,” demanded Raja.
Meanwhile, Chahal earlier clarified that the contract can't be scrapped on “mere news which appears in newspapers”. However, when contacted by the FPJ reporter, he did not comment on whether he would consider the former corporator's demand.
Meanwhile, a civic official said, “We have got the design of the bridge verified by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. Our project management consultant is also monitoring the ongoing work which is satisfactory.”
Pointers:
Bridges expected to ready in 36 months
20% complete in 17 months
BMC Opp leader seeks inquiry
writes to Municipal Commissioner
Estimated cost ₹584.27 crore
BMC pays ₹13.50 crore
