Concerned about the poor status of the roads in the state, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has promised to repair over 50,000-km-long roads in the next three years’ time.
The minister said the repair work requires Rs 30,000 crore and the state is working on various financial models to raise the funds.
The roads will have signage, radium plates, trees and no potholes. The announcement by the minister is important in the wake of public anger this rainy season because of potholes.
“It is true that the road quality is not good in the state as compared to our neighbours,”Mr Mungantiwar told The Asian Age.
“We have undertaken this massive project of repairs and beautification for over 50,000-km-long major roads in the state. The roads will have signage, radium plates, trees and will be potholes free,”
The estimated budget for the works is a whopping Rs 30,000 crore. A time frame of three years has been set for the repairs and beautification of the roads, he added.
In the state, 25,666 km roads are categorised as fair while 40,553 km roads are in poor condition out of the total road length of 90,532 km.
“We have an ambitious deadline of January 1, 2019 to complete the work. We are confident that strict measures won’t delay the projects,” Mr Mungantiwar said. Replying to a query about corruption in road contract, Mr Mungantiwar said the issue can be addressed with different measures.
“I have spoken to a few IT experts and they have informed me that a database should be created of the contractors and the companies involved in road construction,” he said.
“The database will have all the records about the companies and its owners. This will help in identifying if the company is genuine or if it was blacklisted, if corruption allegations are made against it, etc. We are working on more such ideas that will prevent corrupt elements from entering into the road constructions business,” the minister further added.
Currently, the BMC has taken action against contractors, its officials and even third party auditors for their involvement in corruption or faulty road repairs.
