Tenders floated to re-lay 1,173 roads for Rs 150 cr in 2024-25

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has floated a tender to re-lay 1,173 roads at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore under the State Finance Commission fund for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

The civic body has carried out over 2,000 road re-laying processes across the city in the current financial year. On the other hand, several roads are yet to be laid after the road milling process took over in the city.

The GCC maintains 488 Bus Route Roads and 34,640 interior roads. In 2021-22, as many as 1,656 roads (313.00 km) were taken up under various schemes such as Singara Chennai 2.0, TN Urban Road Infrastructure Project and State Disaster Relief Fund at an estimated cost of Rs 213.19 cr. At least 1,550 roads have been completed and the remaining works are going on.

“In 2022-2023, more than 3,600 roads were taken up under the above schemes, and Nagarpura Salaigal Membattu Thittam, at an estimate of Rs 427.51 crore. We’ve completed 2,693 roads at Rs 297 crore. Similarly, in the current financial year, 6,327 roads have been planned to re-lay, of which the works for 2,469 roads have been completed,” GCC Commissioner J Radhakrishnan told DT Next.

Further, under the State Finance Commission fund 2023-24, as many as 190 roads at an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore are taken up for re-laying for which tenders opened on February 6 this year. “Additionally, 1,173 roads under the same fund have been planned for the upcoming financial year for which tenders began on February 9,” he added.

The civic body has carried out road re-laying works at various interior roads in the city. “But they have done a shoddy job as they do not follow any protocols and processes. This poses a safety risk to denizens and inconveniences the public,” fumed residents and activists.

“The Paper Mills Road in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (Zone 6), which was milled about a fortnight ago, has resurfaced, as the quality of milling was substandard as always. Similarly, in Loco Works Road, the patch-up work has been done in bits and pieces sans milling. And it has not been done for the whole width, which has made the road surface uneven. The road has small humps at regular intervals,” said C Raghukumar, a civic activist at Perambur.

For over 3 weeks, the local body’s contractor milled Ramanujam Koodam Street in Old Washermenpet, but suddenly abandoned it without any notification. “Such issues are neglected by the civic body ward councillors and even zonal-level officials. They don’t care about us, and don’t bother to monitor such works in the locality,” rued R Ramesh, a resident of north Chennai.