CAG unhappy with civic body’s road work

If you blame the authorities every time a new road crumbles after a small downpour, you are not alone. Giving you company is the Comptroller and Auditor General of India that, in its latest report, has criticised the MCD for blatantly ignoring the upkeep of roads, reports Anuradha Mukherjee.

If you blame the authorities every time a new road crumbles after a small downpour, you are not alone. Giving you company is the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) that, in its latest report, has criticised the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for blatantly ignoring the upkeep of roads.

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The auditing body said that a performance check of all MCD road projects revealed that the civic agency did not implement the schemes properly. At places where it managed to build roads, it did not improve drainage facilities. The result: the roads cracked earlier than their projected life span.

The MCD also does not seem to be bothered with quality and conducted checks only in only 53 per cent of its projects, it said.

“MCD accepted the substandard work during the monsoon season although the CRRI had thrown up defects in most of the works. The works were neither rectified by the contractor, nor were compensations recovered,” said the report. Of a total road network of 30,093 km, MCD is responsible for 27,139 km.