New roads: Civic body to crack the whip on erring contractors

Cracking the whip on errant contractors, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to blacklist contractors who failed to fill potholes that have emerged on roads under the defect liability period (DLP).

Cracking the whip on errant contractors, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to blacklist contractors who failed to fill potholes that have emerged on roads under the defect liability period (DLP).

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Many of these contractors are on the list of contractors short-listed for the Rs550-crore contracts for making new roads in the city.

This first-time move could affect their bidders' bids, in case they are blacklisted. Till now, the civic body has only been fining road contractors.

Additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said, “Deputy commissioners have been instructed to inspect roads under DLP and check the number of potholes. If those are not filled up by Monday, we will take severe action. Contractors will be blacklisted if found guilty after an inquiry.”

There are 1,138 roads under the DLP — constructed in the past three to five years. DLP is the period till which the responsibility of a road lies with the contractor. For asphalt roads, the DLP is 3 years and for cement concrete roads it is 5 years.