Latest news with #MThennarasan
Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Gujarat govt transfers 13 IAS officers
Gujarat government, on Tuesday, transferred 13 IAS officers in the state. A Gujarat-cadre IAS officer of 2000-batch, M Thennarasan, has been appointed as Principal Secretary of Urban Development and Urban Housing Department replacing Aswhani Kumar, a 1997-batch officer. Thennarasan is currently holding the post of Principal Secretary of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department. Kumar has been transferred as Principal Secretary of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department. However, he will continue to hold the additional charge of the post of Principal Secretary of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Department. In the same transfer order, the government has relieved Kumar from the additional charge of Principal Secretary of Ports and Transport Department and given the responsibility to R C Meena, who is Principal Secretary of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. Milind Torwane, the Managing Director of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (GSPC), has been transferred and appointed as the Principal Secretary of Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development Department. He will also hold the additional charge of the post of Commissioner of Rural Development. Torwane has also been given additional charge as MD of GSPC till further orders. Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi has been transferred and appointed as MD of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. Municipal Commissioner of Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JMC) Om Prakash has been appointed as Rajkot Collector whereas, MD of Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited in Vadodara Tejas Parmar has been appointed as Municipal Commissioner of JMC. The Collector of Panchamahals-Godhra Ashish Kumar has been transferred and appointed as Director of Tribal Development.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Demolition of unsafe Hatkeshwar flyover to cost at least Rs 9.31cr
Ahmedabad: The Rs 34 crore Hatkeshwar flyover bridge, built in 2017 and declared unsafe for use in 2022, will now be demolished at the cost of Rs 9.31 crore. It was over three years since the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) proposed to demolish the structure and rebuild it, but the decision remained pending. It was only seven months ago that the AMC floated a tender for demolishing and rebuilding the contentious structure in the Khokhra area of the city. However, with the civic body failing to take any decision on the issue, the tender was cancelled. You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad The AMC has now opted to demolish the bridge from its pile cap bottom level. A new tender of Rs 9.31 crore for the demolition of the bridge with structural problems was issued on Thursday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money Expertinspector Click Here Undo According to sources, AMC officials proposed to include the bridge's demolition and reconstruction tender in the Nov 2024 agenda of the civic body's standing committee. The proposal was quietly rejected, suggesting the tender's possible cancellation. AMC weighed options between demolition or reassigning work to the original contractor. Pressure from senior officials in Gandhinagar to favour the original contractor, Ajay Engi-Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, led to the cancellation of the old tender. Questions also persist about cost recovery from the original contractor. However, the tender issued on Thursday focuses solely on the demolition of the dilapidated structure. On Sep 5, 2024, the AMC standing committee chairman Devang Dani announced that the tender for the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge would be finalised within a month. Seven months passed without any decision. Despite 28 standing committee meetings over the past four months, the bridge's demolition and reconstruction proposal was excluded from the agenda. Subsequently, the tender's validity expired, resulting in its cancellation. Sources reveal that three previous tenders floated for the project received no bids. The fourth tender, with a base price of Rs 51.70 crore, attracted one bid of Rs 118 crore from a Rajasthan-based company. A five-member committee, including four officials and an expert, completed the technical evaluation. Meanwhile, the blacklisted original contractor, Ajay Engi-Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, requested the AMC on Oct 30, 2024 to stop the tender process and reassign them the work. An AMC official involved in the project confirmed that despite multiple meetings about the bridge's demolition and reconstruction, not a single tender received approval. Former municipal commissioner M Thennarasan signed the single tender file. Plans included seeking standing committee and general assembly approval before issuing work orders. The final decision limited the scope of the tender to mere demolition. Head: Inglorious Fact File Ajay Engi-Infrastructure Pvt Ltd constructed the Hatkeshwar flyover bridge between 2015 and 2017 at the cost of Rs 34 crore. It was opened for public in 2017, with a one-year defect liability period Structural issues emerged in March 2021, followed by a report in May 2021 regarding the bridge's construction quality. Assessments were carried out by three private laboratories, while additional expert consultations were obtained from IIT Roorkee and SVNIT, Surat. A dedicated three-member committee did the final evaluation The assessment revealed substandard concrete quality, with insufficient strength resulting from incorrect water-cement proportions and excessive water usage. These issues led to concrete porosity and carbonation, which compromised the structure's longevity The investigation revealed that the cement quantity was lower than required specifications, which resulted in weakened concrete. On April 15, 2023, AMC commissioner M Thennarasan declared that the bridge would be demolished Subsequently, Ajay Engi-Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and project management agency SGS India Pvt Ltd were blacklisted. The AMC suspended four officials and initiated departmental inquiry against four others AMC's deputy engineer Jignesh Shah lodged an FIR against eight officials of the contractor firm and PMC agency, citing violations under BNS sections 120 (B), 406, and 420.
