Latest news with #UrbanDevelopmentandUrbanHousingDepartment
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Bumpy road to progress: State's seasonal quest to fix infra woes while battling monsoon damage
Less than a month into the Southwest monsoon's arrival in Gujarat, over 21,000 potholes have surfaced across the state's roads, exposing their poor condition. With diversions on account of slow moving traffic, and the precautionary closure of bridges over rivers following the July 9 Mujpur-Gambhira bridge collapse in Vadodara district, the busy Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway was recently hit by a jam that resulted in the traffic crawling for more than a day on a 15-km stretch on the outskirts of Vadodara. The bridge collapse claimed 21 lives (one person's remains were untraceable), and the subsequent 40-plus km detour has resulted in increased costs and travel time for commuters going towards Vadodara-Bharuch from the Anand side. Amid protests by the Opposition, public resentment and allegations of corruption, a crackdown was initiated by the Gujarat government under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel — a politician known to start his career from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. With municipal corporation elections due next year, the government's move seems aimed at addressing the concerns. According to the data accessed by The Indian Express, the state government issued notices to at least 100 contractors across the 17 municipal corporations (including nine new ones) and 149 municipalities — 60 in municipal corporations and 40 in municipalities — and imposed a penalty of nearly Rs 71 lakh. The notices also sought explanations regarding the deplorable condition of roads from engineering staff of the municipal corporations. As of July 10 (a day after the Gambhira bridge collapse), data indicated that nearly 600 km of roads in the 17 municipal corporations across the state and around 625 km roads in municipalities had been damaged. Of these, 500 km and 420 km roads were repaired in municipal corporations and municipalities, respectively, according to data. However, worse would follow. Data shows that in the next 12 days (till July 22), another nearly 180 km in municipal corporations and 100 km in municipalities got damaged. During this period, the government also encouraged the residents to use a mobile app, GujMarg, to report potholes, breakdowns and other damages on public roads and bridges. The data accessed by The Indian Express states that 17,735 potholes were reported in areas under the jurisdiction of municipal corporations and 3,745 in municipalities till July 22, of which around 1,400 km of roads in both municipal corporations and municipalities and 21,500 potholes have reportedly been fixed by the authorities so far. Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, M Thennarasan told The Indian Express, 'The repair work was the priority… it has been completed. Now, the focus is on replacing it (the immediate repair work) with a hot mix, which is more durable and long lasting'. Contractors and crackdown With the government issuing notices to over 100 contractors across all the municipal corporations and municipalities in the state, at 31, Vadodara topped the list with maximum notices followed by Surat at 10. SURAT In Surat, at least 10 contractors were issued notices and the penalty ranged between Rs 25,000 and Rs 7.5 lakh. According to the information, the contractors and contracting firms who found themselves at the receiving end included Sunil A Domadia, JM Shah, M A Patel, A K Patel, K K B Projects Private Limited, S Z Patel and Sons, Ambika Construction, Bhavani Construction, Shreeji Construction and Marutinandan. Surat Municipal Corporation saw the highest penalty amount collected, at nearly Rs 50.5 lakh from 10 contractors who were compelled to bear the cost of the roads repaired. RAJKOT In Rajkot, two contractors were issued notices. The Rajkot Municipal Corporation, sources said, plans to penalise the contractors. 'The three damaged roads with a total stretch of 850 metres were under the DLP (Defect Liability Period). A fine will be imposed on the two contractors who have worked on it,' Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Tushar Sumera told this paper. Pawan Construction and Classic Construction have also been directed to complete the entire road resurfacing work at their own expense. BHAVNAGAR The government called out Bhavnagar-based Om Construction after roads work, completed in January 2022, got damaged. As defects were found in the work within the DLP, the defective part was recarpeted at the expense of the contractor. According to officials, the construction company was already served notices by the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2023 over quality issues and their bank guarantee was revoked. However, it was challenged in the Gujarat High Court where the court granted them an interim relief. Other contractors served notices by Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation are Shivdhara Enterprise, Madhuram Infrastructure and Hindustan Construction. AHMEDABAD As published in The Indian Express, the city reported over 8,500 potholes on its city roads in a month till July 9, a fourth of which were found in the West Zone and over 400 on its bridges. In the ongoing crackdown, Ajay Engineering Infrastructure Private Limited and the Project Management Consultant SGS India Private Limited have been issued notices with directions to pay the cost of contractor hired for demolition of Hatkeshwar bridge, which was declared unsafe in just over four years of its opening. JUNAGADH Junagadh Municipal Corporation, issued notices to three contractors, including Amber Builder for resurfacing of 500 sq meters on the damaged road, Shram Shraddha Construction for 4300 sq meters of damaged road and Sarjan Construction for 480 sq. meters of damaged road. The Sarjan Construction, as per the company's website, has ongoing projects in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation related to construction, fabrication, erection and rigid pavement work of six bus shelters (two bay regular) on Sola Bridge to Sardar Patel Ring Road (Science City Road) in Ahmedabad City, for which the work order has been received. Additionally, Junagadh civic body also served notice to PC Snehal Construction Private Ltd though not for road repairs, but to not dig new roads before the monsoon and to repair the roads already dug before the season. Municipalities go easy Among the municipalities, 40 contractors were issued notices, but none have been penalised yet. The highest notices were issued in Gandhinagar municipality, to 13 contractors, who also bore the cost of the road repair work. At 31, Vadodara saw the highest number of contractors being penalised for subpar work. 'The highest number could be due to the reporting mechanism. Since the work was not as per satisfaction, these many contractors were issued notices and penalised,' says VMC commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu. According to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation officials, seven contractors, who took up drainage projects of the VMC in recent months, were fined up to Rs 1 lakh. These include M/s JNP Infra, M/s DR Agarwal, M/s Hindustan Fabricators, M/s SK Makwana and Co., and M/s Bhavin Enterprises. These works were to include road carpeting, which was left incomplete. At least 10 contractors have been fined Rs 1 lakh and above for works of the VMC's Water Department. While M/s Akar Construction has been fined Rs 1.5 lakh for seven such road patches in the city, M/s AK Make Infra has been fined Rs 1 lakh for leaving roads unfinished at five locations. This list also includes M/s Rajkamal Builders Infra Limited — one of the VMC's biggest contractors — which also executed the marathon desilting and dredging project of the Vishwamitri River with a 100-day deadline for pre-monsoon flood mitigation programme. The other contractors of the Water Department projects, who have been levied penalties under Rs 1 lakh, include M/s Dagli Associates, M/s Honest Engineers, M/s Nand Infra, Pavan Enterprises, M/s BD Sarothiiya, and M/s Elite Engineers. Seven other contractors have been fined by the VMC for shortcomings in the ongoing road projects. Dharmik Dave, Head of Department and Executive Engineer (Water Works), in-charge Additional City Engineer (Drainage Project and Sewage works) and Executive Engineer (Road Project), said that none of the penalties issued were because of 'washouts' or 'breaking roads'. 'Almost all the roads under repair are about 15 years old and way beyond the DLP. Most penalties initiated are in incidents of drainage and water network laying, where the contractor has not carpeted the road, as per the scope of work. We wanted a motorable surface, they made the base but did not carpet as they were aware that rains will lead to natural settlement. If we had carpeted it, it would have settled but would have developed cracks as experienced earlier. So this time, we reserved the carpeting for later…' Dave said. Dave added, 'Road contractors are aware that the laying of the storm water drain is in the scope of work… many have not done this work, but made the road motorable. There have been settlements and we have issued notice to them for ongoing work…' Dave added that although roads under DLP (of three years) are in perfect condition in the city, the VMC has identified nine roads that have underground drainage networks of over 40 years ago, leading to repeated cave-ins. 'Since the drainage lines underneath are over four decades old and were created with now obsolete technologies and so they are repeatedly caving in… Under the government disaster fund, we have tendered a project to repair and replace these networks,' he said. When The Indian Express tried to contact stakeholders at Shivam Construction Company and Rajkamal Builders, the firms refused to comment. Another contractor, who has been fined under Rs 50,000, feels that the penalties are 'harsh'. The contractor said, 'The decision to impose penalties on contractors without getting into the merits of the case is unfair and harsh… Contractors, who were asked to complete water and drainage projects just during the monsoon onset would have no other option but to leave the road without carpeting it as the settlement would mean that the VMC would face more flak and questions would be raised on the quality of work…' The multi-axle tanker hangs precariously over the Mujpur-Gambhira bridge two weeks after a part of it collapsed into the Mahi river killing 21, mostly villagers who were on their way to work, few pilgrims and others. In the days that followed the mishap, over 2,000 bridges across the state were inspected and 133 bridges were closed for safety concerns while 30 bridges were closed for urgent repairs. In Vadodara city, the closure of a 51-year-old Nandesari bridge over Mini River as well as the Ranoli Railway Over Bridge on the outskirts of the city left residents concerned about commuting to their workplace. Days after the Vadodara city police notification diverting traffic to Ranoli overbridge, the latter was also closed. Even 17 days after the Gambhira bridge collapse, the administration has been unable to retrieve the slab of the bridge that fell into the river, taking along with it at least two trucks, a private car, two pick up vans and three motorcycles. The authorities are also yet to remove a tanker truck that has been precariously positioned on the broken bridge, on the side of Anand district. In Narmada district, the closure of six strategic bridges, including Movi and Netrang have meant that going to talukas of Dediapada and Sagbara has become longer by over 100 km by a private vehicle as state transport buses are plying only up to the points where the bridges are closed. State of affairs There are a total of 355 bridges across 17 municipal corporations in Gujarat. Government data reveals that out of these, 39 bridges have been identified as 'dilapidated'. Of these, 35 have been categorised as under 'low severity', one under 'medium severity', and three under 'high severity'. Among the 'high severity', one bridge — Sandhiya Bridge — falls under Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and two — Kamatibaug and the old Jambuva River Bridge — under Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). 'The reconstruction of Kamatibaug has been approved by the standing committee while new designs are underway for the Jambuva Bridge,' Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu said. While RMC demolished Sandhiya Bridge in June 2024 and commenced the construction of a new bridge, expected to be completed by September 2026, VMC has closed both bridges. 'Under the state government's SOP following the bridge collapse incident (Morbi), inspection of bridges was carried out every three months in Rajkot. For Sandhiya Bridge, more than the reconstruction planning, the diversion route was the biggest challenge since it connects to Jamnagar. It took us two months to do the same. At present, 60 % bridge work is complete and we are aiming to finish it before the deadline,' Rajkot Municipal commissioner Tushar Sumera shared with The Indian Express. In Surat, 22 bridges are under repair, which is the highest in any city. Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal said, 'It is because of the bridge rehabilitation scheme, which was launched in Surat around two-and-a-half years back. With the highest number of bridges in Surat at 121, a detailed survey was done last year. Based on the survey, bridges were categorised under A to D category, with A requiring no repair to D in dilapidated state.'As per the officials, 80 bridges fall under A category, 15 under minor repair work (B category), 26 under major repair work (C category) and none under D category which requires immediate demolition. The AMC has completed the detailed inspection of all three dilapidated bridges, including Parikshit Lal, Sardar and Gandhi bridge. 'Based on the observations, minor repair works and bearing replacements are currently in progress and are expected to be completed at the earliest,' Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said. Meanwhile, Jamnagar Municipal Corporation has initiated the reconstruction process for the dilapidated bridges and has restricted movement of heavy motor vehicles on the Kalavad Naka Bridge and near Annapurna Circle Bridge. Junagadh Municipal Corporation has appointed a technical consultant to carry out detailed inspection of the dilapidated bridges. Navsari Municipal Corporation has completed detailed inspection of both its dilapidated bridges and has restricted heavy motor vehicle traffic.
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Indian Express
Contractors served notices over road damages under Defect Liability Period, told to repair them at own expense
IN A major crackdown against defaulting contractors for road damages across the state, within 17 municipal corporations and 149 municipalities limits, the state government has issued notices and penalised several contractors. As massive public anger and backlash followed the collapse of Gambhira bridge in Vadodara on July 9, and with the corporation elections due within a year, the civic bodies have issued notices to over 25 contractors falling within the Defect Liability Period (DLP), who have been asked to repair 659 km of damaged roads across 17 municipal corporations. Sources in the state government stated that this is the first such massive campaign against contractors over road damages. Explanatory notices have also been issued to the engineering staffers of municipal corporations. 'The repair work is closely monitored centrally, daily, and the municipal corporations and municipalities have been directed to rectify the damages at the earliest. Wherever negligence will be found, corporations will take stern action against whoever is responsible,' M Thennarasan, Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, told The Indian Express. Meanwhile, the government has claimed to have repaired 99 per cent of damaged roads in the state. As on Wednesday, 577 km of road stretches, which had been damaged, were repaired and 16,665 out of 16,832 potholes stood repaired across the state's municipal corporations, it said. While the Surat Municipal Corporation issued notices to nine road contractors, it penalised them to the tune of Rs 50.42 lakh for potholes and damages found on the roads during the Defect Liability Period (DLP). SMC officials claim that almost all the major roads in the city have been repaired. Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal said, 'Since the last five days, we have been running a drive to repair and resurface the roads in Surat city. The work is done in all nine zones in the city limits. We first issued notices to the road contractors and later penalised them to the tune of Rs 50.42 lakh. The two hot mix plants of SMC operate as per the demand of the zones. Both plants have been working 24/7 for the last few days to meet the demand for hot bitumen and other materials. Till now, over 270 roads within the city limits have been made, and over 4,000 tonnes of bitumen have been used. SMC is personally looking after the repairing and resurfacing work.' Similarly, in Vadodara city, while 12 contractors have been issued notices and penalised to the tune of Rs 18 lakh, show-cause notices have been issued to nine deputy engineers of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation. 'Out of a total of 3,300 potholes, 3,000 have been repaired. Out of 38.42 km of damaged road, 37.48 km has been repaired, the remaining work will be completed by tomorrow (Thursday). Also, bitumen patchwork has been completed on 18 km of stretches. Notices have been issued to deputy engineers and they have been asked for explanations for lack of attention towards their work. If their explanation is not found satisfactory, disciplinary action will be taken against them,' Arun Mahesh Babu, Municipal Commissioner of Vadodara, told this paper. In Junagadh, notices to three contractors were issued recently while the process of issuing notices to another two is underway as part of a citywide drive, Junagadh Municipal Commissioner Tejas Parmar told this paper. Similarly, nearly three engineers and two contractors have been penalised in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) too, officials stated. In Ahmedabad alone, over 7,200 potholes have been repaired this monsoon. 'If various contractors in the state still do not complete the repairs of roads under the DLP within the stipulated time frame, or if any accident or loss of life occurs due to their negligence, strict criminal action will be taken against them. No contractor who shows negligence will be spared and strictest action will be taken against them as per the law,' the state government stated on Wednesday. The Urban Development Department has completed more than 99 per cent of the work on a war footing in the eight municipal corporations — Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Junagadh. 'In these older eight municipal corporations, out of 312 km of dilapidated roads, more than 310.68 km of roads have been repaired. The remaining works will also be completed quickly within a week. Apart from this, asphalt patch work has been completed on a total of 55.86 km of roads,' the government stated. Further, 15,123 potholes were reported post rain in these eight municipal corporations of which 15,004 have been filled, the government said. Out of the total 15,985 complaints received by these corporations regarding roads, potholes, cave-ins and waterlogging, 14,633 have been disposed off and the remaining will also be resolved immediately, the government assured. In the new nine municipal corporations, the Urban Development Department has repaired more than 266 km of roads out of around 347 km long damaged roads in Mehsana, Nadiad, Anand, Navsari, Vyapi, Surendranagar, Morbi, Gandhidham and Porbandar. In addition, asphalt patch work has been completed on a total of 10 km of roads. There were 1,709 potholes on various roads in these nine municipalities, out of which 1,661 have been repaired. Further, out of a total of 676 complaints received related to roads, potholes, cave-ins and waterlogging, 649 have been resolved. In addition, out of a total of 2,951 potholes and pits on roads falling under the six Regional Commissioners of Municipalities of the state, namely Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad, 1,878 have been filled. Also, out of a total of 834 complaints received in these six Regional Commissioners of Municipalities, 818 complaints have been disposed of immediately.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CM reviews repair works of roads, bridges; asks officials to adopt proactive approach, ensure immediate redressal of complaints
Chief Minister (CM) Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing repair works of roads and bridges across the state through the video wall of the CM Dashboard. He directed officials to adopt a proactive approach to road repairs, ensure quick restoration of traffic movement and the immediate redressal of citizens' complaints by prioritising road maintenance. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi; Additional Chief Secretary to the CM, M K Das; CM's advisor S S Rathore, Principal Secretary of Urban Development and Urban Housing Department (UD&UH Department), M Thennarasan; Additional Principal Secretary to the CM, Avantika Singh; Secretary to the CM, Vikrant Pandey; Secretary of Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, P R Patelia and others. Officials from district administration and urban local bodies also participated through video conference. As per an official release from the Chief Minister's Office, CM Patel instructed engineers and officials to ensure that no complaint, however small, remains unresolved and that repair works are prioritised to prevent the public from facing any inconvenience. The CM emphasised that all complaints received through the R&B department's 24×7 control room, GujMarg mobile app, municipal apps, WhatsApp, websites, helpline numbers, city civic centres, and command & control centers must be addressed promptly and satisfactorily, with active monitoring by the officials concerned. At Tuesday's meeting, UD&UH Secretary Thennarasan outlined the mechanism for the prompt redressal of citizens' complaints in urban areas, highlighting that out of 15,424 complaints received from metropolitan cities, 12,023 were successfully resolved. R&B Secretary Patelia informed the CM that 99.66% of the 3,632 complaints received via GujMarg app were resolved. As per the release, the number of users on the GujMarg app increased from 10,767 to 28,449 in just three days. The release stated, 'The CM directed that all ongoing repair works be closely monitored through field visits by officers, local authorities, and district administrations. He instructed thorough inspection and prompt repair of bridges closed for safety, with strict quality checks. For bridges with diverted traffic, he emphasised ensuring safe alternate routes and smooth traffic flow. He further stressed that repairs must continue without interruption, and citizen convenience must be prioritised. On rain-free days, additional manpower should be deployed to expedite road and bridge restoration.' Besides, a comprehensive review was conducted of the ongoing road repair operations, including patchwork and pothole filling, at the meet. 'As of now, 47% of patchwork on damaged roads has been completed, and more than 63% of pothole-filling work has been accomplished. Additionally, a significant portion of road repairs under the jurisdiction of the 17 Municipal Corporations in the state has also been completed,' the CMO release further stated.
Indian Express
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Overall area of water bodies along four key lakes in Ahmedabad has reduced by 46%, says report, points out ‘lack of water sensitivity in statutory plans'
While there has been much talk over the status of redevelopment in their surrounding areas, the overall area of water bodies along four prominent lakes in Ahmedabad — Vastrapur, Memnagar, Thaltej and Sola — has reduced by almost 46%, according to a report by the Keshav Varma-led High-Level Committee (HLC) on Urban Planning under Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, government of Gujarat, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Analysing the changes in lake land cover following the Lake Redevelopment and Interlinking of Lakes (LRIL) project, the report reveals that the redevelopment, in most cases, has happened by reclamation of lake land, effectively reducing the overall water spread of the lake. 'Lakes like Thaltej and Sola are still under threat due to encroachment because of lack of interventions,' the report added. Pointing out that often, lake redevelopment projects proposed with the goal of conserving them 'resulted in dried-up lakes', the report stressed that this was largely because of the vision of redeveloping the waterbody (mostly for placemaking) while ignoring its catchment, i.e., the streams that carry water to the lake and other green and grey infrastructure around the lakes. The section on water-sensitive urban planning by Professor Mona Iyer, CEPT University, with inputs from Prakash Datta, officer on special duty (OSD), Urban Development and Urban Housing Department; D P Desai, Chief Executive Authority of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA); and Harpal Dave, Convenor, HLC Gujarat, highlighted, '47 per cent of new development in Ahmedabad is sited on high and very high recharge potential zone' as 'built up area in Ahmedabad increased by 46 per cent in the 0-50 km region between 2000 and 2015'. Urban natural water systems—such as rivers, wetlands, ponds, and groundwater—offer a range of essential ecosystem services that contribute to the health and well-being of urban environments. '83 per cent of urban water bodies in Gujarat are being used for groundwater recharge (NIUA, 2023). In the census of water bodies, 54,069 water bodies have been enumerated, out of which 98.3% (53,156) are in rural areas and the remaining 1.7% (913) are in urban areas. Out of these urban water bodies, 800 are natural and 113 are human-made. (MoJS, 2023),' states the first-of-its-kind exercise of census of water bodies, conducted in 2018-19 and published in 2023. Highlighting the role of and challenges faced by urban water systems and their planning, the report has listed the case study of Vastrapur lake and smaller lakes around it. A comparative analysis of aerial imagery from 2000, the proposed Town planning scheme (TPS) Bodakdev 1B, and aerial imagery from 2020 of Vastrapur lake reveals a declining trend in blue cover, highlighting the rapid loss of water bodies due to unregulated urban development. 'In the 2000 aerial image, the lake is prominently visible. However, in TPS Bodakdev 1B, the lake was appropriated, its land use reclassified, and a proposal for Socially and Economically Weaker Sections (SEWS) housing was introduced. Further analysis of the 2020 aerial imagery shows that a haat (marketplace) had been constructed on the site, completely replacing the lake,' the report stated. 'This case clearly demonstrates how statutory plans often lack water sensitivity, facilitating the conversion of water bodies into developable land and ultimately leading to their disappearance. The water bodies vanished as they were not recognised in the statutory plan. Champal talavadi labelled as a water body in the TP scheme. Dhoyu Talaavdi labelled as a neighbourhood centre. Both the erstwhile water bodies are now filled and developed as a land parcel,' it added. Terming the LRIL, which started in 2003, as a 'good initiative with mixed impacts', the report pointed out that it was a result of four triggers — climate extremes, groundwater depletion, lake encroachment, and civic activism and judicial intervention. Mapping of lakes is among the foremost steps towards their conservation; it is a quintessential element of their identification, the report stated. Several lakes have been lost due to oversight in notifying them, the report has pointed out. What should be taken care of during redevelopment, according to the report: -Mapping of the streams should be an integral part of the plan-making process. -Conservation of streams will help ensure water in the lakes and prevent urban flooding. -Statutory plans should recognise the streams that need to be conserved and make relevant proposals. -The extent of conservation measures should be determined by the stream order. -Authorities and developers should ensure that the flow of the streams is not restricted by development. Any linear, public infrastructure cutting across water channels should be retrofitted to allow unhindered passage of water. For example, stretches of roads cutting across the streams should be provided with culverts to allow unhindered flow of water. – (Appointment of) An officer in charge (catchment management authority/officer) or creation of task force/ water management services department, directly reporting to the Municipal Commissioner and District Collector. Or, specially created water systems cells for their respective administrative jurisdiction that would be responsible for periodic survey and record verification of demarcated water bodies. -Any re-engineering of the demarcated streams or lakes should be done with the permission of the officer-in-charge. -All water bodies to be given high priority and attention. A state-level empowered committee chaired by the Principal Secretary (Urban Development) should take decisions in case of any disputes in the demarcated water bodies. The committee should include urban planners, environment engineers, hydrologists, geologists, and other invited subject experts as per context-specific requirements.
