Ranchi, Sept. 1: Chief minister Raghubar Das today reacted sharply to "unscientific" drains being built across the capital at a time when it is Jharkhand's sole claimant to the 98-member shortlist of the Centre's Smart Cities Mission and needs to present its best face to make it to the top 20.
The around Rs 300-crore drains project executed by state road construction department is a precursor to the big-ticket integrated sewerage and drainage proposal to be taken up by Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) and a Japanese agency.
But, in the last six months that work has been on, chaos has gripped the capital.
Today, at a review of the action plan to improve capital civic amenities, the chief minister pointed out complaints of poor workmanship in ongoing drain construction.
"It seems standard parameters aren't adopted during construction. There is need to inquire into what's happening and mend matters accordingly. Payments to respective contractors should be given only once RMC and road construction department verify the work is satisfactory," Das said.
Even to a layperson, the ongoing drain construction work looks like crores going down the drain.
The drains are all Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) structures without slabs, covered with continuous long castings in a way that will make cleaning them difficult.
Moreover, subsidiary drains don't join them. No one seems aware where and how the filthy water will flow out.
In Dangra Toli Chowk, work has stopped suddenly without provision for where the water would go. In Ratu Road, the ongoing work has badly hit commuting while the levels of drains laid so far look uneven. In Hinoo area, where the work has finished, the quality looks poor. Jharkhand High Court had also come down heavily on the drain work in Hinoo because scores of trees were felled during construction.
Das also directed to identify more parking spaces across the capital besides taking stern action against illegal parking and encroachment.
He also asked RMC to sanction maps of multi-storey residential/ commercial apartments/complexes, provided there was provision for adequate parking space.
The chief minister directed repairs of glitch-ridden traffic signals at many capital thoroughfares and removing squatters from footpaths. He also stressed the need to strengthen drinking water supply, communication networks (cellphone, landline, Internet) and public transport for a better quality of life.
Finally, Das stressed on having a well-lit capital.
Recently, RMC has introduced LED lights on some roundabouts and roads of the capital, including Lalpur Chowk, Harmu, Kokar, and some parts of Ratu Road and Circular Road.
Present during today's meeting were chief secretary Rajiv Gauba, principal secretary of finance department Amit Khare, CM's principal secretary Sanjay Kumar, road construction principal secretary Rajbala Verma, her urban development and housing counterpart Arun Kumar Singh, drinking water and sanitation secretary A.P. Singh, Ranchi municipal commissioner Prashant Kumar, among others.
