GHMC’s road doctor plan ends up in garbage bin

Hyderabad: The 150-km ambitious Comprehensive Road Development Plan of the GHMC on the lines of the international roads is another failure like the Litter Free Zone.

Though the Standing Committee has appr-oved Rs 292 crore in funds for the CRDP, which was commissioned in January this year, so far the 53 main stretches in the GHMC jurisdiction have not been taken up.

That apart the ‘Road Doctor’ Contractor (meant to fill up potholes) has reportedly shown disinterest in the GHMC and now has tied up with the Bangalore Municipal Corporation.

The CRDP was to re-carpet and refurbish roads, however out of 53, only one stretch has been taken up. The only stretch that has been given a makeover so far is the one between Saroornagar and Karmanghat.

“The proposal for cement roads at a cost of Rs 150 cr and bituminous road at a cost of Rs 60.05 cr is before the government for approval. The GHMC is waiting for a nod from the government and once it gets an approval the work will start immediately,” stated a senior officer of the corporation

In August the GHMC decided to adopt a unique infra red recycling pothole and undulation repair system called the ‘Road Doctor’ to repair badly damaged roads and avoid frequent pothole fillings.

The Corporation took it up as a pilot project and proposed to cover all the zones with one machine each on outsourcing basis. The work was supposed to be paid based on potholes filled in terms of square metre and the GHMC also claimed to pay any citizen Rs 1k if they spotted a pothole under the GHMC limit.

Reportedly the ‘Road Doctor’ contractor has shown disinterest in the GHMC as the finances was discussed by the GHMC and even the sites which had to be identified by the GHMC engineering wing was not done.

That apart though the GHMC made an announcement of awarding people with Rs 1k for every pothole they spotted there was no budget allocated towards this scheme.