Footpath and drainage repair season begins ahead of polls

As the financial year is coming to end, the regional ward offices started floating maximum tenders for drainage and footpath repairing related works.

In order to utilise the ward development fund, it is common practice in the civic body that elected members are forced to spend a maximum amount on drainage and footpath related works.

For the last two weeks, almost everyday tenders are floated by the PMC for footpath repairing works and laying drainage lines. Each tender’s estimated cost is below Rs10 lakh.

One of the officials on anonymity said, “It is an elected member’s ward development fund. We need to float the tenders as works are suggested by elected members. It’s their budget.”

One of the ruling party’s office-bearers accepted on anonymity that ward office levels works are unnecessary and money is spent on the same work.

“year, the same footpaths are getting renovated but as elected members are aggressive about it, we cannot do much about it,” he said.

A senior official from PMC said, “In almost all the municipal corporations it is general practice to carry out drainage works. The maximum number of works is unnecessary. There is no mechanism to check whether the work carried out is really necessary.”

Another elected member on anonymity said, “A few years ago, it was exposed in the Bhavani peth area that only manholes were erected and there were no pipes connected to it. It means the contractor only erected the manholes and pipes were not laid.”