Mumbai's BMC Has Spent Rs 17,693 On Fixing Each Pothole & We All Know The Results!

An RTI query revealed that during the last six years, BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has spent Rs 113 crore filling up potholes. The data which was provided by BMC¡¯s road and traffic department to activist Shakeel Shaikh stated that from 2013 to July 31 this year, the civic body has received 24,146 online complaints regarding the potholes.

In 2013, the BMC spent Rs 46.26 crore to fix potholes, followed by Rs 34.17 crore in 2014, Rs 10.61 crore in 2015, Rs 6.95 crore in 2016, Rs 7.73 crore in 2017, Rs 7.98 crore in 2018 and Rs 14.35 lakh so far in 2019.

So, a total of Rs 15.71 crore was spent to fill 8879 potholes from June 2017 to July 2019.

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As per the RTI reply, of the 24,146 complaints were received in the last six years, potholes in 23, 338 cases have been repaired.

If we go by the data, then Rs 17,693 is the cost of filling one pothole and only 199 potholes are present on the vast 200-km stretch of roads managed by the corporation. And despite spending over Rs 15 crore from 2017-2019, the situation on the ground tells a different story.

This rainy season has already claimed 11 lives this monsoon. When contacted, Shaikh said that the RTI reply shows that BMC has approximately spent about Rs 16,693 on the repair of each pothole in these six years.

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A senior official from the roads and traffic department told the Indian Express, ¡°We are using cold mix material to fill the potholes, as it repairs faster. As of now, some potholes remain, which would be soon repaired. We have asked engineers to take up repair works on important roads first.¡±

On Rs 17,693 being spent to repair one pothole, the official added, ¡°Earlier, the expenditure on potholes was high but if you see the data, we have now reduced the same.¡±