Bhilai Mayor Neeraj Pal has alleged irregularities, poor quality work and favouritism in road construction projects carried out under the 15th Finance Commission in Ward-22 Kurud. He has demanded an independent investigation into the construction quality and payments made to the contractor. According to Neeraj Pal, road construction work worth around Rs 78.30 lakh was awarded to contractor Shashank Jain. However, the roads reportedly deteriorated within two months of completion. The Mayor claimed that despite complaints regarding poor construction quality and delay in work, large payments were released to the contractor. He stated that Zone-2 Commissioner

 

Esha Lahare had written to Municipal Commissioner Rajeev Pandey on June 11, 2025, recommending action and blacklisting of the contractor due to poor-quality work. However, the contractor later submitted a quality report from PWD Durg on June 23, 2025, following which the first running bill of Rs 15.43 lakh was cleared, even though the project completion deadline was fixed for October 28, 2025. Neeraj Pal further alleged that a second payment of Rs 35.25 lakh was also approved. He accused Commissioner Rajeev Pandey of extending the completion deadline by four months till February 28, 2026, and imposing only a 0.5 percent penalty instead of the expected 6 percent penalty under rules. The Mayor has written to the Durg Collector along with documents and official files, demanding blacklisting of the contractor and an independent quality inspection of the roads. He also sought strict action against the contractor and officials found responsible for approving payments despite alleged poor-quality construction.