PCMC Pipeline Contractors To Level Dug Up Roads At Own Cost

PUNE: The water supply department of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has put a clause in tender bid documents making it mandatory for contractors to level the road after the pipelines are laid.
Earlier, the contractors would lay the pipes on roads and refill the trenches with uneven murum, resulting in inconvenience for motorists. Later, the asphalting work of these rough patches was given to new contractors for an extra price. Now, the one who lays the pipes will have to level the road with tar.
Ambadas Chavan, additional city engineer and chief of water supply department, PCMC, confirmed that such a clause has been included in the tender document.
Joint city engineer Pravin Tupe said, “Earlier too the PCMC used to get the trenches filled from the contractor. But now it is being explicitly mentioned as a mandatory condition while inviting bids for future projects. “The tender process will be completed in two months while actual work is expected to begin before the end of this year.”
The condition has been put up in the bid document for 18 projects of the water supply department, estimated to cost Rs 6.71 crore. Of these, 12 projects are to be completed in six months and five in a year. One other project has a two-year deadline.
Sulabha Ubale, group leader of Shiv Sena corporators, said, “The contractors dig up roads and other open areas but fail to fill the trenches. Accidents occur due to uneven roads. There is no co-ordination between the water supply department and the engineering department, due to which there is delay in reasphalting work of roads. The PCMC should ensure that the contractor who has dug up the roads for pipelines fills the trenches and asphalt the roads. ”
Source