Contractors flout norms to make a fast buck

HYDERABAD: Sell ad space at bus stops even before construction is complete Contractors, who are building bus stops on the Kukatpally- Miyapur stretch, have been found to be flouting norms prescribed by the GHMC to gain extra bucks. Even before the construction is complete, the roofing and side boards have been made available to advertisers. The bus stops at JNTU, Hydernagar, Bogaram and Allwyn Cross Roads are a case in point.As per GHMC tender rules, bus stops should be constructed by the contractor following the Build, Operate, Maintain licensing agreement under PPP mode, with facilities of seating, lighting, dustbin and flooring which are mandatory. After completion of the same, the GHMC provides a Project Completion Certificate (PCC) which allows the contractor to sell the ad space for a period of not more than five years, in order to recover the cost of construction. It is also the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that annual painting and maintenance works are carried out till the end of the stipulated period. The stop at Allwyn Cross Roads sports a cheap Aluminium sheet as its roof (standard bus stops have a galvanised sheet), and no raised platform, while the other three stops too have no dustbins, lighting facilities or pucca platforms for the convenience of the passengers. All these stops though, have one thing in common: ad posters. In reply to the same, K Dhananjaya Reddy, Additional Commissioner (planning), GHMC, promised to look into the matter and initiate action if any mischief on the part of GHMC officials or contractors was discovered.