Prove charges of funds misuse yourself,Faridabad civic body tells resident

<i>Resident alleged spurious material is being used to construct road</i>

The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad recently told a resident to undertake investigations himself into his allegations regarding the alleged use of sub-standard material for road construction.

The case involves one Krishan Lal Gera,a resident of Faridabad Sector 15,who had raised the issue about a partially constructed road in Gandhi Colony,NIT,Faridabad. According to Gera,sub-standard material is being used by the civic agency to construct this 3,500-foot stretch.

The civic body,on its part,accepted the plea of the applicant that he should be allowed to get the sample of materials used for the road tested from Shri Ram Lab in Delhi after depositing a fee. Gera has been asked to submit a report of the findings by the next hearing on November 27.

It is a provision under the RTI Act that an applicant can take samples and conduct tests.We have sent samples for routine testing to Bharat Lab in Delhi. The road is still under construction. We are short of funds,and work on widening this stretch has been halted, C R Rana,Commissioner,MCF,said.

The applicant had filed a petition under September this year. The decision to construct the road was taken as early as May 18 last year. Work was,however,allotted in July this yearand started by August-end. The project was allocated Rs 24.05 lakh.

The partly completed road,meanwhile,has already started developing cracks and potholes. Gera also alleges that while mechanical paver machines,bitumen boilers and road rollers found mention in the RTI reply,none were used during construction.

Roads that should last for years do not even last a season. This amounts to misuse of funds, Gera said.

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