TMC slaps penalties on two civic contractors

THANE: Thane municipal corporation has slapped penalties on two civic contractors after they were found compromising the quality and flouting mandated safety norms, officials informed Tuesday.
Municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar informed that a penalty of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on a contractor assigned the task of asphalting and resurfacing of various roads in the city had failed to provide adequate safety gears to his staff. A notice has also been issued to the concerned engineer in-charge of the work. The irregularity was spotted during the visit by chief minister Eknath Shinde in the city last week who directed the officials to take stern action.
In another case, a contractor, the quality of road cleaning work assigned to a contractor in Vartaknagar Ward Committee was found to be below expectations as piles of garbage were seen on roadsides within his ambit. Also, the agency had failed to provide safety equipment to employees following which the contractor was issued a notice and penalised Rs 10,000 with a stern warning to improve work else face premature termination of contract.
“The action comes close on the heels of Shinde and Bangar issuing warning to officials to ensure quality of work and safety of workers employed in civic works. The action is likely to send a strong message to everyone and not take their works lightly,” said an official.
It may be noted the chief minister took a review of all civic works and monsoon preparedness on May 22. The state has allocated Rs 605 crore for undertaking revamp works of 282 roads. Presently 127 road works are being taken up at a cost of Rs 214 crore in the first package while the second and final phase will see utilisation of remaining Rs 391 crore for revamping 155 roads.
In order to keep the parks in the municipal area up-to-date, the corporation has outsourced maintenance of select park beautification, traffic islands and spaces under bridges to agencies who will be able to display advertisements in the premises.