Probe into claims that tenders were not floated to clean Gurugram drains
GURUGRAM: After five hours of rain left several parts of the city under water, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), on Friday, initiated an internal inquiry to probe if the drains and underground water tanks in north and west Gurugram were cleaned before the onset of the monsoon.
MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav said that after the downpour, which left major arterial roads, underpasses and internal streets in knee-deep water, an official i n t he corporation informed his seniors that not even tenders were floated to clean the drains in several areas before the rains arrived. The invitation for bids to clean drains is a standard process.
“There are allegations that tenders were not floated for clearing the drains and cleaning underground tanks in zone 1 and 2. Hence, I have asked officials to get the facts checked and an inter- nal inquiry has been initiated to find out if there was any malpractice,” Yadav said.
According to MCG officials, the issue dates back to July this year, when tenders for cleaning drains were being floated.until June, only 40 % of the drains had been cleaned and tenders floated.
The two zones cover sectors 15, 10 A and Old Delhi Gurgaon Road, all of which were inundated after Gurugram recorded 128mm of rain, the highest quantum of rain in the city since 2010, on Tuesday. The poor maintenance of drains is believed to have partly contributed to the flooding that followed.
Sector 10 A is especially significant in this context since it is located alongside Hero Honda Chowk, where an underpass had to be closed to traffic after 50 million litres of rainwater left it inundated. It took officials over 50 hours to drain out the water.
“Estimates for such tenders had been compiled by the executive engineers. However, these were shot down by those holding positions higher than them as they believed that, since monsoon was on its way out, there was little point in cleaning the drains at this time of the year,” a senior MCG official privy to the development, said.
ND Vashisht, the chief engineer of MCG, however, maintained that all drains had been cleaned prior to monsoon and when asked about the inquiry, he said he was “not aware of any inquiry being marked by the MCG commissioner.”
According to MCG officials, 95% of the city is covered under a sewage system. There is 501 km of sewer network running across the city. Apart from 35 wards, all 37 villages are also covered under the MCG’S sewage system.