In response to an RTI (Right to Information) application, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that it spent over ₹21,000 crores on repairs, maintenance, and building of new roads since 1997.
The civic body spent ₹3,201 crores between 2013 and 2014 alone. This was just prior to the revelations about the road scam in 2015 which raised further questions about the civic body’s spending.
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BJP MLA from Andheri Ameet Satam raised the RTI application to learn more about the spending after revelations about the city’s potholes. “Bad roads are among the most pressing problems in this city, yet their condition has not changed for decades. There are multiple reasons for this, one being lack of coordination between multiple utility agencies and the BMC,” Satam said.
“So, when a road is newly made, the very next year it is dug for laying of cables. Another problem is that no major road construction company comes forward to take up works as the tender size is very small for them. Secondly, they are hesitant as they feel they may have to grease palms at multiple levels,” the MLA added.
BMC’s data shows that the number of potholes in the city has risen from 315 in 2020 to 437 this year. IIT-Bombay professor and structural engineer, Pradipta Banerji said that the huge vehicle load could be one of the reasons why the roads can’t stay intact for longer.
“In a city like ours, traffic is always moving. For good road works, traffic needs to be halted. If the authorities do that, motorists may complain. Hence, I say, it’s a vicious circle,” Banerji said.
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