E-Paper
₹3.97-crore taxpayers’ money to be used for road repairs in Thane
Thane Municipal Corporation will spend taxpayers’ money in maintaining the newly widened, concretised or redeveloped roads which are still in the Defect Liability
Thane Municipal Corporation will spend taxpayers’ money in maintaining the newly widened, concretised or redeveloped roads which are still in the Defect Liability Period (DLP).
During this period, contractors are expected to maintain the newly built roads constructed by them for an agreed period.
The decision came in the wake of mounting complaints over the lack of maintenance of the roads. TMC, which will spend ₹3.97 crore on the maintenance of new roads, claimed the money will be spent on improving street furniture, which is not included in the DLP.
A TMC official said, “Residents and local representatives have been complaining about the lack of maintenance of newly widened or constructed roads. Moreover, it is also necessary to ensure that motorists are disciplined so that pedestrians can walk safely. We have allocated a separate budget of ₹3.97 crore for the maintenance of new roads.”
In the past four years, TMC has completed building 27 new roads totaling 25 kilometres. Also, many roads have been concretised or redeveloped.
Most of these roads are either dumped with vehicles parked illegally or abandoned for months. In some cases, the dividers, speed-breakers and footpaths are broken.
The official said, “The DLP is for maintenance of roads while the budget is mostly for improving street furniture. This includes painting speed-breakers and zebra crossing at different junctions, demarcating road lanes, install cat’s-eyes (reflective safety device) on zebra crossings, install covers on open chambers and repair damaged footpaths. This is not included in the DLP contract.”
Residents said this is a waste of public funds.
Pravin Mahapadi, 36, a resident of Wagale Estate, said, “The contractor responsible for development of road is also responsible for its maintenance for over five to 10 years. All the roads which got a facelift since 2015 will still be in the DLP. So, it is the responsibility of the contractor to repair footpaths, speed breakers and zebra crossing. Under the name of street furniture, the corporation is merely trying to shield the contractor and waste public money.”
Every newly constructed or reconstructed road has a defect liability period of several years during which the contractor is supposed to repair any damage to the road.
