No contractors bid for road repair work
With just days to go for monsoon, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has failed to find bidders for road repair work. These repairs were to be undertaken within the MMRDA city limits and the two highways namely Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway. Officials said work has not started due to lack of response for the tenders.
The Free Press Journal was the first to report that potholes will reappear this year on the two highways as the MMRDA is using the much criticised cold mix for repairing potholes. With a delay in the work and usage of cold mix, it is difficult to ascertain the safety of these highways this year.
Speaking about the reason behind contractors’ reluctance to bid for the project, Pravin Darade, the Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, said, “The stone quarries at Thane is one of the major source for acquiring construction materials was shut recently and that has adversely impacted the road repairs work. Fearing that they will fall short of materials in the future, these contractors have not showed up.”
Darade added that they have asked contractors to quote the rate for the quarries from Palghar and Raigad if they fail to get quarries from Thane. He said, “We have asked to include the additional transport rate for getting quarries in the entire project work. We have also issued tenders for road repair work during and post monsoon.”
Bearing in mind that the shortage of stone quarries is one of the major reasons for the delay, authorities are now planning to issue fresh tenders with a change in the tender conditions.
A senior MMRDA official told FPJ, “We are deciding upon tweaking the tender conditions to bring in more bidders. The repair work is essential and we cannot afford to delay it further as the monsoon is approaching. However, once the repair work starts, it will take 7-8 days to complete as the contractors will work 24/7 to ensure that the deadline is met.”
MMRDA now awaits response from contractors. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is struggling to meet the May 31 deadline for its pre-monsoon road repairs work of over 900 roads.