5 days ago
Vadodara's Mandvi gate repair tender delayed due to staffing issues
Nearly four months after Vadodara city's Mandvi gate — known as the heart of the city — began showing signs of crumbling due to 'column crushing' in April this year, the recently-formed Heritage Cell of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is waiting for 'appointment of staff' to complete the process of issuing the tender for its repair and restoration.
VMC sources said that following the public outrage over the deteriorating condition of the Mandvi gate, the civic authority had appointed a consultant, who had prepared the tender proposal. However, since the task has now been handed over to the Heritage Cell, the department is yet to have officers being given charge for the posts of Additional Assistant Engineer (AAE) and Deputy Engineer. 'A tender proposal has to pass through the proper channel. Usually, an AAE will first prepare the tender file and the Deputy Engineer will scrutinise and sign it. Thereafter, it goes to the Executive Engineer of the department and then to the Deputy Municipal Commissioner before being sent for approval to the Standing Committee through the Municipal Commissioner. Thereafter, the tender can be issued… the process of issuing the tender for the Mandvi gate restoration has not been completed yet as no officers have been given charge of the Heritage Cell,' an official said.
The official added that with the recent controversy of the alleged procurement scam in the Fire Department of the civic body that led to the Municipal Commissioner ordering suspension of three officials, including the HOD Dr Devesh Patel, Chief Fire Officer Manoj Patil and Deputy Fire Officer Naitik Bhatt, departments are 'wary' of deviating from the process. An official told The Indian Express, 'The Municipal Commissioner will have to appoint in-charge officers for the posts in the Heritage Cell in order to complete the processes that need to be done. Since the Heritage committee is also in the offing, it will help follow the process… Earlier, the projects of the heritage structures were also taken care of by the Futuristic Cell but with a dedicated Heritage Cell now, the Futuristic Cell cannot take responsibility for the tenders.'
When contacted, Rajendra Vasava, Head of Department and Executive Engineer Heritage Cell said that the process of issuing the tender for Mandvi gate is on. 'We have received the proposal drafted by the consultant and the repairs are estimated to cost around Rs 2.9 crore. Currently, the MS structure beam and column has been added to give support to the structure to prevent further damage but the restoration will be done by expert conservationists as per the original design of Mandvi gate… We will issue the tender within a few days,' Vasava said.
Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu told The Indian Express, 'Restoring and repairing the Mandvi gate is a priority for the VMC. The process to issue the tender is on. The VMC, with the help of conservation experts and consultants, is undertaking the repair of the gate…'
Babu added that the civic body is also in the process of forming the Heritage Conservation Committee, in addition to the Heritage Cell. 'The Heritage Conservation Committee proposal is to be sent to the government and is under process, too. A heritage walk has been planned and it includes conservation and redevelopment of the boulevard from Mandvi gate to Sursagar lake with Nyay mandir and Lal court restored to its original glory. We are also looking at installing QR codes for scanning as well as audio guides for tourists at these places,' Babu said.
In May this year, the VMC held a meeting with multiple departments as well as heritage conservationists to discuss the way forward to restore the historical structure, in which stakeholders, including leaders of the ruling party and Vadodara MP Hemang Joshi had discussed the need for the area within the walled city around Mandvi gate to be declared as a silent zone, to minimise further damage from the heavy traffic movement in the area.
