BMC delay caused cost to double
The chief fire officer (CFO), the head of Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), is nowadays operating from the command centre in Wadala since the command centre in Byculla, where the MFB headquarters are located, is not ready for operation.
The lack of poor planning by the civic administration has not only forced the CFO to shift his base to Wadala, but also the project cost of construction of three buildings for MFB escalating to more than double the original cost.
In 2008-2009, the BMC planned to construct three buildings in the premises of the MFB headquarters in Byculla at the cost of `15 crore. These structures included a command centre comprising a ground floor , parts of the fourth and the fifth floor, a five-storey staff quarter and a one-storey workshop. The project was undertaken to improve and upgrade the fire brigade with modern equipment. However, three years passed, but, only the command centre is ready. That also, without any interiors and furniture and the work has come to a halt due to unavailability of funds.
“The BMC has now decided to float a new tender to complete the remaining work of other two buildings and furnishing of the command centre,” said a senior civic official.
However, the total project cost escalated from `15 crore to `40 crore for the delay.
According to sources, the delay was due to failure of civic officials to conduct the mandatory and basic soil testing of the area, where the buildings were coming up.
The BMC had made initial estimation of the construction assuming the buildings would be built using foot foundation. However, as the construction started, the developer had to carry out pile foundation due to different soil conditions, thus resulting in increased project cost.
“We tried to complete the project within the same cost by excluding some of its features. But, the work had to be stopped since the funds were exhausted in 2011,” the official added.
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