FCC

BMC achieves 158 km of cement concretisation on Mumbai roads

2023-08-17

Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has declared that the BMC's road department has achieved a significant feat by successfully accomplishing the cement concretisation of 158 kilometres of roads within Mumbai over the past eighteen months. This accomplishment has augmented the overall length of cement concrete roads in Mumbai to a total of 1148 kilometres.

Historically, the BMC has confronted annual censure due to the prevalence of potholes on its road network. Citizens, media representatives, and social activists have all expressed their discontentment with the BMC's road maintenance endeavours, and the Bombay High Court has consistently rebuked the BMC on this matter. To tackle these concerns, in 2017, the BMC committed to the comprehensive cement concretisation of all roads in Mumbai.

As documented by the BMC, its jurisdiction encompasses approximately 2000 kilometres of roads. Prior to 2022, the BMC had successfully completed the concretisation of 990 kilometres of these roadways.

BMC's extensive initiatives in road concretisation

During his address on Independence Day, Commissioner Chahal stated, "BMC is wholeheartedly dedicated to ensuring the caliber of our roads. At present, on-going projects for road concretisation cover a stretch of 265 kilometres within Mumbai, out of which 158 kilometres have been triumphantly concluded. These roads encompass 59 kilometres within the city, 64 kilometres in the Western Suburbs, and 35 kilometres in the Eastern Suburbs."

Monitoring road quality through CCTV surveillance

Chahal further elucidated, "Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been strategically installed at construction sites to oversee the quality of roadwork. Senior officials can closely monitor the progress through these cameras. The BMC also conducts meticulous inspections of the construction materials, subjecting them to 50 distinct tests in its laboratory to ensure their quality."

Supplementary to these endeavours, subsequent to the establishment of the Shinde-Fadnavis government, the BMC revealed its intention to concretise an additional 400 kilometres of roads in Mumbai in September 2022. The BMC has verified that the implementation of this announcement is already underway.