Team Herald
PANJIM: Engineers India Ltd in its preliminary report has held as many as 28 contractors responsible for the dilapidated road conditions in the State and instructions have been issued to PWD to get these roads repaired through them free of cost as per defect liability period.
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Addressing mediapersons on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reiterated that contractors concerned who do not repair the dilapidated roads built by them free of cost will be blacklisted, while the PWD engineers will also be issued show cause notices.
Sawant said that last week the government received a preliminary report from Engineers India Ltd on road conditions in the State and based on the report, instructions have been issued to PWD to get these roads repaired through the contractors. The PWD has now asked the Engineers India Ltd to submit the final report on the condition of roads.
He said, “We are checking on how work orders were issued to contractors during last one year, who completed roads and what’s the present condition and what would be the suggestions of Engineers India Ltd. One decision is final and that is without spending money from the State exchequer, the contractors will have to repair the roads or else they will be blacklisted.”
Presently, based on the preliminary report, contractors have been asked to repair the roads. A committee has been constituted to fix responsibility and it will also henceforth check the quality of roads and its durability period and suggest action against the contractors, Sawant said.
The activists have alleged that the roads are repaired only when VVIPs visit the State.
Activist Xencor Polgi pointed out that when the President or Prime Minister visits the State, the roads are done up on a war-footing, but when idols of Lord Ganesh are brought and taken out for immersions, nobody is bothered to do up the roads so that the devotees can take the clay idols home safely without breaking. This is a shame on governance, he opined.
It may be recalled that on August 14, the Chief Minister had stated that the road contractor will have to repair the potholes within the defect liability period and that even PWD engineers will also be held responsible for road accidents caused due to potholes on roads.
According to Sawant, more than 100 contractors were issued show cause notices for substandard works after potholes surfaced on the roads built by them. He had also added that all roads in the State would be pothole free before Ganesh Chaturthi.
Meanwhile, the Integrated Management System giving details of contractors, the road constructed by them and the length of the road built will be put in place from October 1 this year.
Transportation of e-auctioned ore likely from Oct: The Chief Minister said that two mining blocks will resume its operations from next month while, the public hearing on three mining blocks will likely be held by September-end and the same blocks will be operational likely from December this year. One mining block leased to Vedanta Ltd in the first phase of e-auction had already commenced its operations.
On the other hand, details of the 30th e-auction of extracted iron ore will be announced within the next three to four days, Sawant said, adding that from October transportation of e-auction materials will resume.
Also the first phase of the dump auction will start from September. As per dump handling policy, the Chowgule Company has been allowed to handle the first dump which was lying in the private property. The applications of other mining companies who had applied for handling of dump on private properties will be cleared soon, Sawant added.
