Contractors penalised for unsafe roadwork sites

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has penalised road contractors who failed to put up enough barricades on roadwork sites, jeopardising the safety of motorists.

The BMC has collected fines of ₹34 lakh from the companies for violating contract conditions.

The civic body is trying to complete large-scale roadworks across the city before the monsoon. The deadline for the work is May 31. During an inspection of some of the sites, civic officials found that contractors had barricaded only parts of the dug-up stretch. A few corporators had also complained to the engineers in their respective wards about the safety concerns.

Action in six wards

Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, in the BMC’s monthly review meeting, ordered officials to take action against errant contractors. Officials from six wards in the eastern suburbs recovered a collective ₹34,86,500 as penalty from 19 contractors.

Speco Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has been fined the most — ₹12 lakh — as it had not put up barricades at four roadwork sites. A joint venture between API Civilcon and Bitcon India has been fined ₹6 lakh, while one between Prakash Engineers and Infraprojects Pvt Ltd has been fined ₹4 lakh, a statement issued by the BMC said. It also lists 16 contractors who have been fined smaller amounts.

Chembur had the most roadwork sites without barricades. “In most cases, the barricades were irregular. There were large sections where no barricade was placed. This can be dangerous for motorists at night,” said Vinod Chithore, Chief Engineer, Roads Department. He emphasised the need for standardised barricades for better visibility.