Bad roads on the stretches where Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) works are on, might remain so for a long time to come, thanks to lack of inter-departmental coordination in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Quite a few stretches where the SRDP works are currently on, fall into the purview of the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation (HRDCL), which include L.B.Nagar, Kamineni, Madhapur and Biodiversity Junction. However, stretches such as Road No. 45 and Tolichowli still remain with GHMC and so does the responsibility of road maintenance here. Both the roads are already damaged, and there is hardly any trace of motorable road on Road No. 45.
“The road got battered during rains, giving a bumpy ride all along. It is a test to the spine,” complains S. Muralidhar Rao, a banker, who commutes the stretch on a daily basis. The road remains so for a long time, as confusion prevailed about who should take up the maintenance works on SRDP stretches within GHMC’s purview. Blame game was on for quite some time between Maintenance and Projects wings of the corporation.
The Maintenance wing, its hands full already with long-pending periodic preventive maintenance works, is unwilling to take up more roads, as the tenders may not get proper response. The Projects wing, on the other hand, complains of lack of manpower to carry out the works.
The matter was recently settled during a meeting with Minister K.T. Rama Rao, where he expressed severe displeasure at the condition of city roads, asking the Projects wing to carry out the road repairs, along with the SRDP works.
Similar agreement with the HMR has apparently influenced the Minister’s decision, whereby the agency was held responsible for the damage to roads, and the repairs thereof. However, the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) agreement with the agencies doing the SRDP works does not mention any such responsibility. This empowers the agencies to refuse any such additional burden without an assurance of payment, say officials. For any inclusion of the work and related cost into the contract, the proposal needs approval by a committee constituted as part of the EPC agreement, they say.
The agencies have been asked to start the works, before the matter is thrashed out in the committee, an official from GHMC informed, even while saying that speedy completion will hinge on the committee’s approval.
