Chandigarh MC enhances road work ‘defect liability period’

For the first time, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to enhance the “defect liability period” from the existing one year to three years for road construction projects.

Sources said in all tenders floated for the recarpeting of roads worth Rs 41 crore, the MC has enhanced the “defect liability period” to three years.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said the MC was committed to providing the best quality of roads to the residents. She said with the increase in the “defect liability period”, the contractors would use the best quality materials in road construction. It will put extra pressure on them to ensure that roads will remain intact for at least three years.

A city resident, RK Garg, said the quality of road construction needs to be improved. The “defect liability period” must be enhanced up to at least five years, he said, adding that if the responsibility of maintenance lies with the contractor for a longer period, then he will have to ensure that the quality remains good.

The MC Engineering Department had issued tenders for the recarpeting of V 4, V 5 and V 6 roads recently. The three-year “defect liability period” has been inserted in all such road tenders. The maintenance of V 3, V4, V5 and V6 and the roads of the villages are the responsibility of the civic body. The V3 roads, with a total length of 275 km, are sector-dividing stretches. These were recently transferred to the Chandigarh Administration due to the paucity of funds. The V4 road bisect a sector and has shopping areas and other conveniences along them. While V 5 are located in front of markets, V 6 stretches criss-cross residential areas.

Many roads have not been recarpeted for around five years.