BMC to Tweak Road Construction Contracting Norms
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may tweak tendering norms to ensure infrastructure companies show interest in taking up road construction projects in Mumbai. BMC is considering doubling the ticket size of contracts and loading the costs on the contractors by making them responsible for annual maintenance works.
The plan
BMC is currently planning to concertize the major roads in the city and lay asphalt on them. This plan will involve road contracts worth Rs. 7,000 crores over the next four years. The size of each road contract would also be raised to Rs. 300 crore from the existing Rs. 165 crore. At present, the road contracts have a Defect Liability Clause (DLP) which include only pothole-related repairs. The proposed change in tendering norms will expect the contractors to maintain these roads as well to ensure better quality of roads. This will include resurfacing and re-laying of 15-20% of roads each year.
BMC is also planning to award the contract of continuous and big stretches of roads to single contractors instead of disbursing the contracts across wards. The contracts are expected to be awarded to companies which already have experience in constructing highways or long stretches of roads than those who are experienced in small scale construction. This is another step by the Mumbai corporation in an attempt to ease the contract tendering system. It is already taking steps to make sure there are less political interference and a single-window clearance system for easing the tendering process.
Potential problems
BMC’s grand plans however are not easy to implement. The government body has been unable to rope in any major firm to allot a road contract for the last three years. As a result, some of the road contracts have gone to the old contractors. Few major firms also expressed concerns over the delays in carrying out maintenance work, especially storm water drains which can affect the quality of the roads. BMC will have to ensure that it conducts drain repair work along with road construction.
Few corporators too are skeptical about BMC’s plans. One contractor expressed concern that while big firms would be focused on constructing long stretches of roads, there would be no one to take care of smaller roads which account for majority of the city’s road network. He also said that there were certain flaws in the current tendering system which made only the old contractors existing for more than 10 years eligible for contracts. He said that BMC should make suitable amendments in these processes apart from expecting the big companies to make a change.
