GHMC orders probe into bogus road repair bills

HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) authorities on Friday ordered a probe into allegations of bogus bills filed by contractors for road repair works carried out in the city.
Senior officials said contractors claimed about Rs 100 crore by submitting fake bills to GHMC's engineering wing over the last one month.
Municipal commissioner B Janardhan Reddy said the civic body would constitute a team of high-level officials to investigate the allegations."There are allegations that the contractors who were asked to lay bituminous tar (BT) roads, have submitted bills without doing the work. Our quality control wing and the vigilance department will inspect these areas and verify the allegations," said Janardhan Reddy.
Minister for municipal administration and urban development K Taraka Rama Rao had earlier said that the shabby condition of city roads was the result of corruption, and contracts should be given to reputed national and international construction companies. Echoing the ministers' statement, participants at 'National Conclave on Recent Advances in Cement Industry' said the city would be better off with cement-concrete (CC) roads instead of the existing BT roads.
"But if the GHMC had gone in for CC roads, which are low on cost and maintenance, this situation could have been avoided. The CC variety of roads last longer which saves a lot of money belonging to the public," said NYR Sampath Kumar, senior assistant secretary, Cement Manufacturers' Association (Hyderabad) at the conference.