Amdavad: For several months, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj flyover in Hatkeshwar has remained closed while the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) awaits the report from IIT Roorkee to determine whether it needs to be demolished or not.

Recently, it has come to light that the contractor who built the bridge was fined crores of rupees for delaying the construction of another flyover, but the penalty was reduced to lakhs and then waived off completely.

The Leader of the Opposition in AMC, Shehzad Khan Pathan, has accused the BJP of protecting the contractor, Ajay Engineering Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (AEIPL). He claimed that a penalty of Rs 2.36 crore was imposed on AEIPL for a delay in the construction of the Gota flyover. However, the standing committee waived off a large part of the penalty almost Rs 2.13 crore and the contractor got away by paying just Rs 23 lakh,” said Pathan.

Pathan has also alleged that poor-quality material was used in the construction of the Hatkeshwar flyover. Pathan has demanded audits on the quality of other flyovers.

Former civic chief I P Gautam had fined AEIPL and six other contractors for delaying projects twelve years ago, but the standing committee later reduced the penalty and eventually waived it off completely. DeshGujarat