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City Roads Turn to Dust, But MCD Sits on Funds

  • Even after collecting close to Rs 120 crore as road restoration charges from various agencies, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has failed to repair roads this year. As per MCD records, just Rs 18.22 crore has been spent on repairing dug-up roads.MCD collects road cutting charges from agencies like DJB, power companies, telephone companies etc that have to dig roads to repair or take essential services underground. The charges have to be deposited before starting the work and the company or agency has to finish the work within a month.
  • Admitting that there is a delay in restoring roads, works committee chairman Jagdish Mamgain said, "Often the tenders for repair are placed months after the agency that dug up the road has finished work. We are trying to expedite the road restoration process. As more than half the road restoration fund is not utilized timely, I have directed the engineering department to start preparing estimates for road repair at the time of granting permission for road cutting."
  • MCD officials blame the agencies for delays. "Most of these agencies don't finish the work on time. We can carry out repair only after their work is over. Moreover, after their work is over, they are supposed to level the ground and ensure that the road is motorable. But most agencies don't do the work properly. Another reason for delay in restoring these roads is that there are too many requests for road cutting from various agencies. Often the second agency wants to cut the same portion or a new section on the same road. We place tenders for the entire road and not for a small stretch,'' said a senior MCD official.
  • The road outside Kallol Apartments in Patparganj, which was dug-up for taking essential services underground, is a glaring example of the civic agency's slackness. Residents say the work got over nearly six months back, but MCD carried out basic repairs only recently after TOI reported the pathetic condition of the road. Residents say the civic agency has done a shoddy job as both the carriageways are unleveled and the road has developed potholes within a month.
  • Similarly, the condition of the road outside DAV School in Vasant Kunj remains bad. "They should have done dense carpeting of the road. What they have done is basic repair. The road has been in this condition for years now,'' said Amit Aggarwal, a resident.Even roads dug up a year or two back are awaiting repairs. In 2009-10, MCD collected Rs 103.38 crore as road cutting charges but spent just Rs 47.11 crore on road restoration. Last year, it collected Rs 90.66 crore and spent Rs 42.92 crore.

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