Aaditya Thackeray says roadworks worth ₹8,500 crore stuck in city

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray criticized the Shinde-Fadnavis government for irregularities in road projects in Mumbai, alleging that ₹8,500 crore worth of roadworks are stuck in the city. He stated that a probe will be ordered once the Maha Vikas Aghadi government comes to power. Thackeray also raised concerns about the quality of road construction by a contractor responsible for a collapsed bridge in Chiplun. The BMC denied the allegations and stated that the project aims to provide pothole-free roads.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government for the irregularities and scams in various road projects in Mumbai. He alleged that roadworks worth ₹8,500 crore are stuck in the city and did not restart after monsoons. He said that once the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comes to power, they will order a probe into the road contracts and put those responsible for the scam in jail.

Mumbai, India - Oct 28, 2023 : Shivsena ( Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray ) leader Aditya Thackeray interacts with Media at Matoshree, Bandra, in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Oct 28, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Aaditya said that road contracts worth ₹6,000 crore for CC roads were given in January 2023 and around ₹2,500 crore were given in March 2022, all of which have not restarted after the monsoon. He asked if the defaulting CC road contractor would be blacklisted or if the issue will be ‘settled’ by khoke (moneybags).

Aaditya alleged that the same contractor constructing a bridge in Chiplun that collapsed while under construction was given ₹1,000 crore CC road contract by the BMC.

“I have always said that this is a scam. The scam exposé is at a crucial point as after my letters, the BMC administration was forced to cut the contract price of cement roads in Mumbai. We came to know that the contractor who won the ₹1,000 crore road works contract in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai is the same one who was constructing the bridge which collapsed at Chiplun in Ratnagiri. This has raised serious questions about the quality of road which that company will construct in Mumbai,” he said.

Thackeray also said that the BMC has issued notice to one of the five contractors in connection with the road work and a hearing will be held in BMC this week. “We are keeping an eye on the hearing process and will see if the BMC takes action and blacklists the contractor or does a settlement in its favour,” he said.

He also said that there is heavy pollution due to dust in Mumbai. BMC administration has declared the same guidelines but has no control over the dust coming from the construction site, he added.

Shinde camp spokesperson and MLC Manisha Kayande said the work on roads was not started due to the rainy season, and as it is over soon, the work will resume soon. She also pointed out that a contract for roads in eastern suburbs was awarded by BMC a few months back and much before the Chiplun incident.

The BMC said that allegations in the media were not based on the facts. BMC said that it has consistently pursued this project for the construction of quality roads for Mumbaikars. “These concrete roads will provide pothole free roads to the citizens of Mumbai. This year also during the rainy season, by filling the potholes on the project roads (roads taken up for concretisation), the citizens did not face any traffic problems.” it said.