Taxpayers to bear the brunt of RMC’s slack show

The residents will have to pay an extra Rs 45.4 crore due to the delay in implementation of two flyovers by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC). The delay has overshot the original budget earlier estimated for the project, and the residents will have to bear the extra amount by way of taxes.

The RMC had envisioned the ‘Triangular Flyover’ project on Gondal Road and Mahuvdi Road railway crossing, and another flyover on the 150 feet Ring Road in a bid to ease the flow of traffic on these two thoroughfares.

Standing Committee chairman Dr Jainman Upadhyaya said: “At the time when we put up this proposal, we fixed our estimated cost through SOR (Schedule of Rate), which was provided by the Public Works Department. In the last two years, the cost of steel, cement, fuel and other raw materials have almost gone double and the residents of Rajkot will have to bear it. There is no alternative to that.”

Municipal Corporation officials in the JNNURM department said that two years ago, the project costs were estimated around Rs 55 crore. Under the stipulation, 50 per cent of the amount of the sanction cost was to be borne by the Centre under the JNNURM scheme, 20 per cent by the state Government and 30 per cent by the RMC.

For the Triangular Flyover, the RMC’s estimated cost was originally Rs 24.8 crore and now the recent increase in estimated cost comes to Rs 48.2 crore. Out of this, the RMC will get grants of Rs 17.96 crore from both the Centre and the state government and bear the remaining Rs 30.84 crore on its own.

For the 150 feet Ring Road Flyover project, the RMC’s previous estimate was Rs 31 crore, which has now increased to Rs 53 crore. Of this, the Centre and the state government will provide a grant of Rs 21 crore and the remaining Rs 32 crore will be borne by the RMC.

Upadhyaya added: “We have not yet sanctioned these projects in today’s Standing committee meeting. We have sent them back to the Commissioner for further study and a review of the design with the contractor. The BJP will provide the best facility to the people of Rajkot and for that we will spend the extra amount.”