BMC to conduct audit of repaired roads

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to conduct its first ever audit of roads with potholes which had been repaired by contractors, checking on materials used by contractors and the quality of the repairs. The audit will be carried out in conjunction with Swiss based firm GSS Consultants, with the project expected to cost ? 5 lakh. During the audit, around 20 per cent of the reported potholes, numbering about 5,000, will be checked at random to find out if they were properly filled, and if the material used was up to the mark. The potholes will not be completely dug up. Instead, a small hole will be made on the surface, and depending on the depth of the filled pothole a chunk will be extracted and sent for laboratory tests. Random samples will be taken from across the city and suburbs. The entire audit process has been designed as not to cause any disruption of traffic. The audit will help the corporation to examine the effectiveness of the cold-mix technology used, apart from the fact whether the technology had been used effectively by contractors during the road repairs. Fraudulent and erring contractors could see substantial fines imposed upon them and could even be blacklisted.