Mayor Hitesh Barot Reprimands Officials Over Roadwork Without Roller, Contractor Faces Blacklisting Notice

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Mayor Hitesh Barot reprimanded civic officials after a surprise late-night inspection found asphalt and aggregate dumped at a road repair site in Odhav without a road roller being present.

Barot and In-charge City Engineer Rishi Pandya reached the road patchwork site near the Varigruh Water Distribution Station at around 11:45 pm, where they found material already spread on the road. The absence of the roller prompted an angry response from the Mayor, who questioned officials over why the material had been laid without the equipment required for the work.

Mayor Questions Officials Over Roadwork Procedure

Expressing his displeasure at the site, Barot questioned why the material had been dumped before the roller arrived and sought an explanation from the officials.

He also questioned the manner in which the roadwork had been carried out, pointing out that pipes had not been removed before the road was built and that material had been dumped without ensuring the availability of a roller.

The Mayor directed the officials to submit a written explanation regarding the entire operation by the following day.

City Engineer Orders Accountability, Blacklisting Notice

Pandya also reprimanded the officials and questioned why the work was allowed to proceed without following the prescribed procedure.

He directed that responsibility be fixed for laying the material without a road roller and ordered that a notice be issued for blacklisting the agency concerned.

Pandya also questioned why officials were unaware of the requirement that the material should not be laid until the road roller was available. He warned that action would follow if a written explanation was not submitted by the morning.

Deputy, Assistant City Engineers Asked To Explain

Following the incident, the Zonal Additional City Engineer issued notices to the Deputy City Engineer, Assistant City Engineer and Assistant Engineer, seeking explanations about their respective roles in the roadwork.

A separate notice proposing the blacklisting of contractor Jay Dharmendrakumar Jani was also issued.

Official Says Roller Was Delayed By 15-20 Minutes

According to the explanation given by a zonal official, the material-supplying contractor and the labour gang contractor are separate agencies and the work requires coordination between them.

The official said the material-supplying contractor reached the site on time, but the road roller was delayed by around 15 to 20 minutes. As a result, the temperature of the material dropped.

The official, however, said the roller was subsequently brought to the site and used on the patch, and claimed that the patchwork was ultimately completed properly.

Assistant Engineer Left Site After Falling Ill

The official also said the Assistant Engineer fell ill during the work and left the site without informing anyone.

This was cited as another lapse, with the official stating that the Assistant Engineer should have informed his superior officer about his health condition before leaving duty.

₹2.60 Lakh Material Cost To Be Recovered

The official estimated the value of the material laid at the site at around ₹2.60 lakh.

The amount is expected to be recovered from the contractor.