Contractors can pay deposit online, says D Karthikeyan

CHENNAI: The greater Chennai corporation will make the payment of earnest money deposit (

EMD

), which is 1% of the total contract value, online, as per corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan.

Replying to a query at a press meet held at Ripon Building in the city on Saturday, he told reporters that there were some human errors and miscalculations when it came to road and drain projects which were rectified when complaints were raised. “We are contemplating on various measures to be taken and we might make EMD payment online. We are in discussion,” he said. Recently, more than 100

contractors

had petitioned the commissioner not just seeking work but also alleging that engineers were not accepting their EMDs which were mandatory for tender bids.

Talking about the quality of work, he said, “We have not re-laid any road that is already in good condition. Whenever such complaints come up, we investigate and take appropriate action,” he said. He also said roads and drains in Chennai were being constructed with the best technology and he could challenge anyone who thought otherwise. “We will start road patchworks in the third week of December after monsoon. We have funds of nearly Rs 300 crore for road construction from the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Fund (TURIF),” he said.

Talking on monsoons, he said that although Chennai was slated to receive 780mm of rain, it received only 470mm which is 60% of the total rain. “We have asked contractors to set up barricades for the safety of pedestrians and commuters. We were prepared with man and machinery if any disaster were to strike,” he said.