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The BMC has penalized a contractor INR 75 lakh after substandard materials and poor curing were found on Khar West's 34th Road during a surprise inspection. The contractor had falsely certified the road as complete, with further investigation revealing weak concrete, undersized aggregates, and missing compaction tests. Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar called the failure systemic, fining not just the contractor but also the quality monitoring agency and municipal staff. The incident raises questions about the enforcement of BMC's quality checks, especially as the city aims to concrete 400 km of roads by May 31 under a high-profile infrastructure drive.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has fined a contractor INR 75 lakh after substandard road work was discovered on 34th Road in Khar West. This comes despite the civic body's claims of ensuring 25-year pothole-free roads under its extensive road concretisation project. Advertisement
The issue came to light during a surprise inspection by Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar on April 7, where he found that the road's concrete base lacked proper strength. The contractor had initially certified the road as complete after mandatory curing but later admitted in a show-cause notice that it had not been cured properly.
Further checks revealed that the mix used for the road was substandard-aggregates used were smaller than required and surface levels exceeded permissible deviations. Even critical compaction tests, which assess whether the concrete can withstand wear and tear, had not been done.
BMC officials said the lapse wasn't just technical but pointed to systemic negligence. Penalties were also imposed on the quality monitoring agency (QMA), the site engineer, and the ward's supervising officials. Bangar noted that such softness in oversight shouldn't be tolerated and warned that officials would be held accountable for future failures.
In the past, the BMC has taken similar action. In March 2025, a contractor was fined INR 20 lakh for damaging tree roots. In April, two more contractors were fined INR 45 lakh for poor work. Last year, a contract worth INR 100 crore was terminated over quality issues.
In other related infrastructure news, BMC is currently racing to meet its May 31 deadline for concreting 400 km of roads in Mumbai. Phase 1 of the project has seen 126 km completed. In Phase 2, work is underway on 1,421 roads, with completion pending on 56 roads. Civic officials admit that despite strong supervision protocols, not all stretches receive consistent scrutiny.
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