The quality of infrastructure in the quest to build faster and more cannot afford to be compromised. Since March 2024, multiple bridges have collapsed across Bihar, with at least 18 incidents being recorded. In August this year, a section of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which is being built at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore, collapsed for the third time in the last three years. Sections of the cable-stayed structure collapsed into the river on April 27, 2022, and June 4, 2023. The District Magistrate reportedly told newswire services that: 鈥淭he entire structure of the under-construction bridge has been deemed faulty, and it is being dismantled by the contractor as per the direction of the Patna High Court.鈥� The bridge, being built by SP Singla Constructions, has been under construction since 2014 and was slated for completion by November 2019. Only 45% of the work has been completed so far.聽
On July 29, the Supreme Court notified the Bihar government on a petition calling for a comprehensive structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges in the state. Gujarat too has seen a spate of structural weaknesses. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 persons. There are reportedly 17 incidents of bridge and concrete structure collapses in the last 16 years. SP Singla Constructions, which was in the eye of a storm over the collapse of the bridge in Bihar, has been awarded two projects in Gujarat: the Okha-Beyt Dwarka Signature Bridge, estimated at Rs 962 crore, and the Dabhoi-Sinor-Malsar-S Road Narmada River Bridge, with a length of 900m and a project cost of Rs 165 crore. Both projects are nearing completion, and concerns have arisen following the bridge collapse in Bihar regarding the quality of bridges constructed by the company. In Uttarakhand, the Rudraprayag Signature Bridge has collapsed twice (first in 2022 and again in 2024). It was being constructed by RCC Infraventures under a tender from the National Highway Authority of India.
Procedures set for the selection of contractors are being compromised, and even blacklisted contractors continue to receive contracts. Contractors do not have the requisite experience, and their teams do not have experienced and well-informed engineers. Using good quality materials is an important factor, but poor engineering cannot help, even if the material used is ideal.
There are 448 bridges in Mumbai, out of which the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is responsible for the maintenance of about 344 bridges. These bridges include skywalks, road, and railway over bridges (RoBs). In 2016, a foot-over-bridge collapsed after having been granted a favorable structural audit report just six months prior. A re-audit found that only one bridge out of the 72 bridges in Mumbai city was fit and reliable.
Since we are spending Rs 11.11 trillion on infrastructure to build a strong base for our growth, compromising the processes of specifications and selections can lead to disasters. An infrastructure audit commission under the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) needs to be established to report on qualitative aspects distinct from the financial aspects the CAG reports upon. It should make audit observations on projects that are expensive or those that have several lives at stake.
The 10th India Construction Festival celebrates growth and success. The 22nd Construction World Global Awards are a testimony to the process we follow for selecting deserving winners. This platform also recognizes the 鈥楳ost Admired Construction Brands鈥�. The stock market indices have reached record heights, and therefore, our 鈥榃ealth Creators鈥� story in July highlighted those that had built wealth for their shareholders. The companies had recorded between 70% and 538% growth in their market capitalization between 31st March 2023 and 14th June 2024, in just 15 months! All three companies that figured in the Wealth Creators story have also emerged as one among the fastest-growing companies, indicating that the market rewards performance too.
