Chandigarh MC readies to transfer V3 roads to Admn for maintenance

Facing mounting criticism over the poor condition of city roads, the cash-strapped Municipal Corporation (MC) has once again proposed handing over V-3 (sector-dividing) roads to the UT Administration’s Engineering Department for maintenance.

The shortage of funds has left the civic body unable to carry out proper repairs. The agenda for handing over the roads will be placed in the MC General House meeting to be held on August 26. A similar agenda had been tabled in 347th General House meeting held on March 25 this year, but was rejected.

The latest agenda states that the civic body has approximately 71 12-ft wide V3 roads under its jurisdiction that span 275 km. As per maintenance norms, re-surfacing, re-strengthening and re-carpeting are undertaken at an interval of five years (covering around 50 km every year) to maintain road surface quality.

Due to funding constraints, re-carpeting and re-strengthening have not been undertaken during the past few years. For the current financial year, 150 km V-3 roads are due for re-surfacing and strengthening. The estimated cost stands at Rs 15 lakh per km, adding up to the total of approximately Rs 45 crore.

However, at this stage, the agenda may be considered amid the acute scarcity of funds. The provisions of section 43, 44 and 428A of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh Act may be referred in the present case to complete transfer.

The agenda when tabled in March drew opposition from councillors cutting across party lines and was rejected.

V3 roads were the sectors dividing roads given to the MC along with other departments and roads when the civic body first came into existence.

Many residents of the city have blamed the adamant attitude of the councillors for the worsening conditions of the roads, especially during the monsoon season. They say had the councillors not rejected the agenda for handing them over to the Administration four months ago, the conditions would not have deteriorated further.