Chennai Corporation has decided to recover the costs of potholes in newly laid roads from contractors.
The civic body has completed a review of the existing condition of roads that were re-laid in the 15 zones. “A complete video recording of the newly re-laid roads was done by 15 teams at the zonal level. Potholes were identified in a few stretches. Contractors who fail to carry out repairs within the stipulated period will lose money from the security deposit after the Corporation completes the repair work on its own,” said a Corporation official.
The civic body has enhanced the ‘guarantee period’ of roads developed under the mega city development mission to five years. Every contractor has to maintain the roads in a good condition for the period, as per their agreement with the civic agency.
Previously, the Corporation had signed clauses for ‘guarantee period’ ranging from two to three years.
The civic body initiated measures a few months ago to repair a few damaged roads re-laid in the past three years. But the condition of the roads continued to bother motorists because of incomplete works on many stretches.
“A road re-laid under the mega city development mission has been slightly damaged in six months. Residents have asked the Corporation officials to repair the stretch before the condition turns worse. But the work is yet to be done,” said one of the councillors of the added areas.
“The security deposit for roads under the mega city development mission is five percent of the project cost. Over Rs. 300 crore has been spent on development of roads under the mission last year. The money will not be returned to contractors if the roads get damaged in five years,” said another official.
The civic body also plans to initiate measures to repair roads if residents point to damages in newly re-laid roads by contacting the Corporation helpline 1913.
