Gadkari Raps Civic Chaos Over Dug-Up Roads, Bad Restoration

Nagpur: Delivering a scathing critique of ongoing civic works, Union minister and city MP Nitin Gadkari on Saturday flagged glaring lapses in coordination, quality control and accountability across govt agencies, stating that newly constructed roads in Nagpur are being repeatedly dug up, often within months of completion.Speaking at a book release programme on 24x7 Water Supply Engineering in Nagpur, Gadkari pointed to the ongoing works under the AMRUT project, where cement concrete roads are being excavated to lay sewer and water pipelines. He said the subsequent restoration is "poor and unscientific", leaving roads damaged and citizens inconvenienced. "There is no coordination among departments. One agency builds the road, another digs it up, and no one takes responsibility for restoring it properly," he said.Taking a hard line on quality, Gadkari called for a complete overhaul of tender conditions, stressing that existing systems fail to ensure durable infrastructure. "Quality is most important. If we don't fix accountability in contracts, we will continue to see substandard work," he said.He proposed a minimum five-year defect liability period for all road works and insisted that performance guarantees must be strictly enforced and confiscated in case of poor execution. "If these conditions are clearly mentioned in tenders and work orders, contractors will be compelled to deliver quality work," he added.In a sharp remark, Gadkari said performance audits should take precedence over financial audits, arguing that merely tracking expenditure without evaluating outcomes has led to a decline in infrastructure standards. "We focus on how money is spent, not on what is delivered," he noted.The minister did not mince words while questioning the technical execution of projects. "If I speak the truth, you may not like it. But the reality is many schemes are flawed. There is confusion, poor planning and serious technical gaps. I don't know what size pipes are being used, how gradients are being designed. There are too many mistakes," he said.