BBMP seeks scrapping of Ejipura flyover contract

The BBMP has written to the state government recommending termination of the contract awarded to Simplex Infrastructure to build the 2.5-kilometre flyover on the Inner Ring Road in Ejipura.

The civic body’s move follows a rap from the Karnataka High Court.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, will likely decide over bringing a new contractor to complete the work.

Though the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) mulled over scrapping the contract earlier, it chose to continue with the contractor since the process to pick the new firm would need at least three months, besides three more months to mobilise the resources. “Despite hand-holding, the company has not been making any progress in the last two months. Hence, we have recommended the termination of the contract. The government will make the final decision by studying the pros and cons,” a senior BBMP official said.

“We need three months to quantify pending civil works and complete the tendering process. We are not sure whether good companies will come forward to take up the balance works. It is a tricky call,” the official added.

Faced with a similar issue regarding two contracts, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) chose to terminate the whole project awarded to Simplex Infrastructure on Bannerghatta Road worth Rs 579 crore.

The BMRCL took seven months to select a new building firm to wrap up the pending works. In the case of the elevated metro project on Tumakuru Road, comprising just three stations, the BMRCL split the contract and roped in a new contractor to build just one metro station.

Quick decisions

Motorists regularly using the Inner Ring Road have urged the BBMP to make quick decisions to finish the project.

“The BBMP has engineers whose job is to monitor the daily progress made by the contractor,” said Ashok Vishwanath, who works in Koramangala. “When other cities are capable of building larger flyovers in a much shorter period, why can’t the BBMP put its house in order and complete the work? It is a shame that the BBMP is not able to complete a small flyover in five years.”

Targeted completion by November 2019, the construction company could only manage 44% of the work concerning the 2.5-kilometre flyover proposed between Ejipura and Kendriya Sadan. The project is also stalled due to delays in the acquisition of properties and felling trees.