Unity Infra Projects gets clean chit in cement road project

NAGPUR: Over a year after being appointed arbitrator in the controversial cement concrete road project, retired state PWD chief engineer DN Potdukhe reportedly gave a clean chit to private contractor Unity Infra Projects and held Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) responsible for the delay in project completion. Besides affecting the project, the arbitrator's order is likely to incur the NMC a loss of over Rs50 crore.
According to the order, the civic body will have to waive off penalty of Rs 6.50 crore imposed on Unity Infra for delay and instead pay Rs 8 crore compensation for stopping the work. Major setback from the order is the decision to pay the contractor according to current cost for the remaining works. Thus, the order will cost the NMC over Rs 50 crore.

Of the total work order of 25.93 km, Unity Infra has completed work on around 4.50km as on date. The deadline was June 6, 2013. Around six months on, the contractor is yet to complete the single stretch of road from Bajaj Nagar square to Shankar Nagar square which is less than 500 metre.

Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari held review meeting on the arbitrator's order on Saturday. Strangely, Gadkari organized the meeting with NMC office bearers, officials and others at his Mahal residence.

Mayor Anil Sole said Gadkari directed the civic body to continue the project work and also begin the second phase. "Gadkari left to the NMC to deciding on the arbitrator's order. I directed the administration to submit a copy of order with the administration's view. I also asked the Public Works Consultative Committee headed by Sandip Joshi to give its view. I will table the report in general body for discussion. Responsibility has to be fixed for NMC's loss," he said.

Dubbing the order as unfortunate, former standing committee chairman Sandip Joshi said NMC's loss should be recovered from seven officials responsible for the delay. "Order to pay the remaining works on current rate will cost around Rs 106 crore," he said.

Terming it as a big scam, leader of opposition group Vikas Thakre demanded inquiry into the entire project. "Unity Infra should have been blacklisted for running away without executing malls' project. But, NMC went on to give cement road project to the same contractor who bagged work below 23% of estimated cost. The contractor delayed the work and all are witness to it. Now, the contractor is set to get current rate and also extension of time period," he said.

Thakre said Congress will expose the bigwig behind Unity Infra due to whom the public money is being wasted. "The contractor got interim relief in September 2013. The work to construct cement road from Bajaj Nagar square to Shankar Nagar square was started. The contractor has not completed the work on road's one side despite passing of over nine months. It is evident that contractor delayed the project. However, the NMC is in nexus with the contractor and causing loss," he said.

Apart from inordinate delay in project, the NMC is in a fix over cracks developed in many places on the cement road constructed between Jagnade square and Ashok square.

What's the order

Order upholds contractors' objection on penalty imposed on it for delay in works

NMC will have to waive off penalty of Rs6.50 crore and instead pay Rs 8 crore as compensation

Contractor will get payment according to current rate for remaining works despite obtained work 23% below estimated cost in 2011