The Deputy Chief Minister chaired a meeting with officials from the PWD, Tourism, and Child Development departments at the Marwar International Centre. While the meeting was scheduled for Saturday, it was ultimately held on Friday night.
During the meeting, Diya Kumari expressed her displeasure at the deteriorating condition of the city’s roads and questioned the PWD’s performance. She demanded that any firm or agency using substandard materials in road construction be blacklisted.
Investigate, and if found guilty, APO
The Deputy Chief Minister directed Chief Engineer Mukesh Bhati to investigate all road construction work undertaken in Jodhpur. She instructed that if any shortcomings in quality or standards were found, the responsible officials should be placed under “awaiting posting orders” (APO). She highlighted the recurring issue of roads being constructed and then quickly deteriorating in Jodhpur, questioning the efficacy of the work. She also pointed out that estimates for projects are often understated initially and then inflated once work commences, expressing her confusion over this practice.
She cited an example where a project initially approved for ₹15 crore ultimately ballooned to ₹50 crore. She also expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on projects included in the 2024-25 budget.
SE and Chief Engineer unable to answer
The Deputy Chief Minister questioned Jodhpur SE Sanjay Mathur and the Chief Engineer about whether any post-construction inspections had been carried out on Jodhpur’s roads. Both officials were unable to provide a satisfactory answer. During the meeting, Law Minister Jogaram Patel, city MLA Atul Bansali, and Deputy Mayor of South Corporation, Kishan Ladda , also expressed their dissatisfaction with the PWD’s performance. Representatives also raised concerns about the Child Development Department’s failure to invite them to Anganwadi inaugurations. The Deputy Chief Minister instructed Deputy Director Samunder Singh to issue a notice regarding this matter.
