Mohali deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi on Wednesday wrote a letter to Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) chief administrator, seeking that the tender for upgrade, resurfacing and beautification of roads in the city be put hold until a decision is taken by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The deputy mayor said this project had been brought under the Mohali Next Generation Programme, under which upgrade, resurfacing and beautification of the city’s roads and junctions were to be carried out.
The scheme has been brought under the hybrid annuity model and its estimated cost is said to be around ₹666.41 crore. The total lane length is more than 422 kilometres, out of which a major portion falls under the jurisdiction of the GMADA. Therefore, it has been proposed that the cost of the project will be shared by the two institutions in a 70:30 ratio.
Alleging irregularities, the deputy mayor said some of the roads included in the tender were recently constructed or already resurfaced and did not require immediate repair. He said this raised concerns over the necessity and transparency of the project, and created suspicion that certain tender conditions may have been framed to favour a particular company.
Bedi further said he had already filed a petition in the high court challenging the project and that the matter was currently under consideration. Initiating or reopening the tender process during this period, he said, would be inappropriate and could raise legal issues.
He warned that if the process proceeded before the court’s decision, he would approach the vigilance department seeking an inquiry into the matter.
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