Ludhiana MC’s failure to ensure quality checks mar multi-crore road development projects launched ahead of the Punjab assembly polls

Ludhiana The multi-crore road construction projects taken up by the municipal corporation (MC) ahead of assembly elections have come to no good as the new roads have already begun wearing off merely weeks after construction.

Several residents from different parts of the city including Udham Singh Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar, Old GT road, Dugri among other areas have submitted complaints of substandard work over the period.

Similar complaints were also received for the work done on Model Town-Jawaddi road and Pakhowal road, which were constructed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT).

A Model Town extension resident Tajinderpal Singh said, “The material started wearing off at the newly constructed Model Town-Jawaddi road (Deep hospital road) a few days after it was constructed. The ruling parties only take up the development project ahead of elections and hundreds of crores is spent on construction of roads, installing interlocking tiles just to woo the voters.”

“However, with no check on quality the amount gets wasted and no one is held responsible for the same and the public is again forced to have a bumpy ride,” he added.

RTI activist Arvind Sharma had also complained against poor quality of construction work at Model town-Jawaddi road and Pakhowal road to the local bodies department.

The rainfall witnessed in the first week of January further blew the lid off the tall claims made by authorities regarding the quality of work.

Gravel can be seen spread on damaged roads, increasing the chances of road accidents as the two wheelers can skid on roads.

Mayor Balkar Sandhu had earlier said road construction work estimating ₹250 crores had been taken up in the city. Notably, the MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal had at the time written to the local bodies department to appoint a third party for quality checks.

An MC official, requesting anonymity, said the ruling party MLAs and leaders pressurised the civic body to take up development projects ahead of elections despite the cold weather conditions.

The hot mix material could not be laid properly during the work carried out in the night and the heavy rainfall and waterlogging witnessed during the first week of January added to the damage of the roads, which would have otherwise lasted for 4-5 years, he further revealed.

A shopkeeper at Dugri road, Sanjay, said the main Dugri road is being constructed after a gap of over six years but poor quality of the work was evident as a stretch of the road wore out even before the project was completed.

“No one is paying heed to the problem. Public money is being wasted and no relief is being provided to the public,” he added.

It is pertinent to note that the MC contactors have taken up repair work of the roads that had been constructed in the last 2-3 months.

MC additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, meanwhile, said the respective contractors have been directed to take up the repair work following the complaints from residents. He revealed that the payments were held until the repair work is completed, before adding that the MC is also working to impose penalties on contractors for the damaged roads.

Material at ‘smart’ Malhar road wears off

The road constructed under the heavily advertised project to transform Malhar road into a smart road under smart city mission has also begun to wear off.

Notably, the authorities had made several promises to ensure the quality of works under the smart city mission, but the project has missed multiple deadlines.