Pune Roads Continue To Remain Damaged Post-Monsoon Despite Large Expenditure By PMC

Pune, 22nd September 2022: The Pune Municipal Corporation has spent about Rs eight crores for repairing roads before monsoon and potholes during monsoon. Even after spending crores of rupees, the roads have been washed away by the rain, and this expenditure has turned out to be wasteful. Meanwhile, it has become clear that road repairs will have to be spent anew due to the deterioration of the roads.

During this year’s monsoon, the roads in the city and suburbs were badly damaged. Motorists and pedestrians had to face inconvenience after the roads became potholes due to continuous road digging throughout the year.

The roads are in disrepair due to the same water supply scheme, drainage and repeated digging by the road department for the same works. The first heavy rains in July have washed away many roads. As the works going on for a year were stopped, road digging and road works continued in various parts of the city during the rainy season of July. Therefore, the Municipal Corporation did not get enough time to repair the roads.

Road repair works were carried out by the Road Department of the Municipal Corporation and the regional offices in the rain. The Municipal Corporation has spent a total of Rs eight crores to repair the roads before the monsoons, and Rs four crores for repairing the roads after the monsoons. Apart from that, separate expenditure has been incurred by the field office. Even after that, the drivers are facing problems due to the damaged roads.

The road repair work has picked up speed as the rains have cleared in the interim. But it has become clear that these works are also in vain. After the resumption of rains, the road rehabilitation work in the city and suburbs has been in full swing. There are potholes again on many roads, and motorists are facing hardships. Despite receiving hundreds of complaints to the Municipal Corporation’s Complaint Redressal Center regarding the poor condition of roads and potholes, the Municipal Corporation has claimed to have filled up 98 percent of the potholes. Works on roads up to 12 meters in width are carried out by the zonal offices of the Municipal Corporation. Whereas, the work on roads with a width of more than 12 meters is done by the Main Roads Department.

Since the Municipal Corporation had to incur this expense due to the road being washed during the maintenance period, the Road Department has decided to charge Rs 5,000 per pothole from the contractor who is responsible for the road. This decision will be implemented at the regional office level along with the main department. But since most of the contractors have not paid the fine amount, the action has become a farce.

As the roads are in bad condition, the Municipal Corporation will have to spend again to restore them. Therefore, it has become clear that the previous expenditure has been wasteful.