PMC’s expenditure of ₹54 crore to rebuild roads under scanner

According to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Prashant Badhe, once the contractor builds any road, he has to take responsibility if the road gets damaged in the specific period

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena leaders have criticised the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) move to spend ₹54 crore on roads which were under defect liability period. The party leaders stated that the civic body should have forced the same contractors who had carried out work to repair and re-surface roads rather than spending money from its coffers.

PMC’s move to spend ₹54 crore on roads which were under defect liability period is under scanner. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Former opposition leaders in PMC and BJP members Ujwal Keskar and Suhas Joshi wrote a letter to the PMC commissioner stating that PMC had recently approved five packages for road maintenance.

Keskar and Joshi said, “The cost of the five tenders is ₹54 crore. As per our primary information, PMC spent the money on the roads from its coffers despite the fact that these stretches come under Defect Liability Period (DLP).”

Tenders for these roads were invited during between October 2022 to March 2023. When contacted, an officer from the PMC road department refused to comment, “How can I reply to political allegations,” he stated.

According to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Prashant Badhe, once the contractor builds any road, he has to take responsibility if the road gets damaged in the specific period. “While carrying every road work, there is a condition of defect liability period which is in between 3 and 5 years. It is found that the potholes were developed on many roads which were repaired recently and most of them were under defect liability period.”

The DLP is the clause in the contract where contractor can be held responsible for deterioration of quality in the road during a specific period — normally three years. Under DLP, contractors can be held responsible for the road quality during the specific time frame as per the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) Act.

Keskar said, “Ideally the PMC should have a system to understand which roads are under defect liability. The period should be mentioned on each road so that citizens are aware. The commissioner needs to conduct an inquiry as there is possible corruption involved.”