Mumbai News: MEA Condemns BMC’s Suspension Of H-West Ward Sub-Engineer Over Khar West Road Quality Issue, Demands Reinstatement Amid Staff Shortage

Mumbai: A day after the BMC administration informed the suspension of a sub- engineer supervising road works in H-West ward, the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) has condemned action against the civic engineer, alleging unfair treatment and over work load.

The MEA in their letter to BMC Commissioner has demanded immediate reinstatement of the sub-engineer, highlighting the staff crunch in the civil engineering department.

The BMC on Thursday informed the media about suspension of a sub-engineer for negligence in supervision of 34th Khar West Road road, after substandard 'Dry Lean Concrete' was found in the sub-base layer. The contractor was also been fined Rs 50 lakh for poor-quality execution, and the Quality Monitoring Agency was penalised with Rs 25 lakh for failing to uphold standards. The contractor has been instructed to immediately remove the defective work and reconstruct it with proper quality standards.

"Firstly, as per the contract, the contractor is responsible for the quality of work. Yes, the engineers have to visit and ensure quality but there can be miscommunication or misunderstanding. The concerned sub- engineer was overlooking at 26 road work sites. In Western suburbs, considering the amount of road works, at least 110 sub-engineers (civil) are required, however, the suburbs has only 25," said MEA executive president Ramesh Bhutekar-Deshmukh.

On Friday, the MEA failed to meet Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar, who had inspected the concerned site and found substandard work, after which the engineer was suspended.

Speaking with the FPJ, Bangar said that suspension of the engineer is not final order and during the enquiry he will be given full opportunity to explain his side. "Yes, the road department engineers are overloaded with work. However, the concerned engineer had visited the site and despite finding the substandard quality, he did not report it and take appropriate actions. He let it away.

Bangar said that the suspension of the engineer is not to set an example for other staff, but for employees to take full responsibility of their jobs. "There should be no compromise in quality of work. I had mentioned the same in my report to the Municipal Commissioner".

While, Deshmukh said that the 34th Khar West road is 200 meters long, and 80% work is completed. "For fault in 20% of the road work, suspension order is extreme action".