Roads may fall apart soon

GHMC fails to re-lay roads; rain and fund crunch cited as reasons

The GHMC has managed to re-lay just 280 km of roads in seven months against the target of 709 km. Even in this, it has laid only the first layer, which is prone to wear and tear. Expect the roads to deteriorate during the rains and after, with potholes and worse. Road repairs will only resume only by the end of October.Civic authorities are blaming the ‘unseasonal rain’ for the slow pace of work.

However, highly placed sources in the corporation said that though weather was a factor, the actual reason for the delay was the other bugbear: severe fund crunch. The corporation has spent `400 crore from its kitty, which was to be paid through the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle constituted to avail bank loans.

THE LOCKDOWN period when much work could have been done as the roads were free, has been wasted.

This money was used to lay the first layer of bitumen, and the GHMC needs another `1,400 crore to complete the work. The government after a series of meetings has assured the corporation that it would reimburse the funds once HRDCL avails the loan.

However, the lockdown period when much work could have been done as the roads were free, has been wasted. Traffic is back on the roads now, and the rains have started in real earnest.

Sources said many stretches in the city, especially in LB Nagar, were already in a bad shape after two months of rain due to the compromised quality of bitumen. Things would get worse when the top layer gets damaged by passing traffic and the rain.

Under Comprehensive Roads Maintenance Programme (CRMP), the civic body was supposed to lay 709 km of roads along with footpaths and lane markings. Tenders have been finalised for five years. The state government has accorded administrative sanction for seven packages totalling `1,839 crore for the maintenance of main roads for five years.