bmc: Mumbai: Now, new road work bids 20% below cost estimate | Mumbai News – Times of India

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[google-translator]

MUMBAI: The BMC, which had re-tendered road work contracts last month, has once again received bids that are below estimates.
Municipal officials said that unlike the previous Rs 1,200 crore road work tenders, where contractors quoted up to 30% lower than the estimated cost, this time the bids are around 15%-20% below estimates.

A municipal official said that by the month-end, the proposals will be brought before the civic standing committee for approval.

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The modus operandi of road contractors quoting rates below the official estimate has been happening in the BMC for over two decades. If a contractor is willing to do a job worth, say, Rs 100 for Rs 85, it hints at cutting corners. That is why freshly laid roads develop potholes with the first rain shower. The administration must break the cartel formed by some contractors.

“Previously, when some of the bids were 30% below estimates, it was very obvious that no quality work could have been done. We have worked out the current estimates and found that satisfactory work could be done at the current rates quoted,” said a BMC official.
This time when the BMC re-tendered the road works of Rs 1,200 crore along with it, it also tendered for another Rs 800-900 crore of road repair works, including those in Mhada layouts.
This, therefore, has taken the total cost of repairs to about Rs 2,000 crore. Of the total 2,000km of road network in the city, as much as 275km is proposed to be repaired. Some of the repair works are likely to start by the end of December if the standing committee gives its approval in time.
Corporators said that the entire process of re-tendering has only wasted time as bidders have again quoted below actual costs. “This has caused an unnecessary delay as we have already lost two months of ‘fair’ season work time. The taxpayers who pay for getting good quality of roads are being deprived of it owing to these administrative hassles,” said Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party MLA and corporator.
The opposition alleged that this has been a tactic to delay actual works as BMC did not have the funds to pay for these works in this financial year.
BJP corporator Vinod Mishra said funds meant for important works like road repairs were diverted to grand projects like cycle tracks or upkeep of penguin enclosures at the zoo. “Even if contractors have quoted below estimates, it is essential that the BMC seizes their security deposits if they find that the work being executed is not at par with what they have proposed. Besides, civic engineers should also ensure that regular supervision is undertaken to keep a check on quality,” he said.

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