Pune: Errors Found in 15 Road Projects in Pimpri-Chinchwad: CM Shinde Announces Cost Recovery from Contractors
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 9th July 2024: Significant errors have been found in 15 asphalt and cement road development projects due to the tender acceptance rate being less than 40 %. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced that money will be recovered from the contractors responsible for these projects.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ashwini Jagtap from Chinchwad raised a question about the quality of asphalt and cement road work done by the contractor within Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits. The College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) inspected the road work and submitted a report six months ago to the PCMC. This report addressed 44 complaints received between January 2022 and January 2023 regarding the quality of the road work.
According to the inspection report, numerous errors were found in the road work, indicating poor quality. Additionally, the contractor made bogus payments worth crores with the collusion of the PCMC administration. The report pointed fingers at the Junior Engineers, Deputy Engineers, Executive Engineers, and Contractors. MLA Jagtap inquired about the actions taken against the contractor and the concerned officers based on the inspection report.
Responding to this, CM Shinde said that the accepted tender rate for some works in PCMC was less than 40%. Fifteen of those works were assigned to the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) for quality and standard inspection through the PCMC. The COEP has inspected the work and submitted the report to the PCMC. Errors were found in some of the works, and the report mentions either repairing the works or recovering the costs from the contractors. The PCMC is taking action as per the report’s recommendations. If any contractor, employee, or officer is found to be at fault, the necessary amount will be recovered from the concerned contractors.
PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, “Action will be taken as per the recommendations of the COEP report. It is being processed through the Civil Department.”
