The Belagavi Smart City project, which was included in the first national-level list of 20 Smart City projects in 2015, has been marred by unscientific and substandard work, officials said, adding that many of the planned works have remained unfinished, causing inconvenience to the people, and the recent incessant rains have exposed the poor quality of construction of concrete roads and underground drainage passages.

The construction of roads and open gutters was done without adhering to technological methods, resulting in rainwater stagnating on most cement concrete roads, and the drain water getting clogged in open gutters.

The Civil Engineers’ Association in Belagavi expressed concern over the unscientific approach in the construction process. Despite being advised to correct the mistakes, the department concerned did not respond, and engineers were blamed for these lapses.

Prabhu Jadhav, a member of the association, said, “We, the engineers feel bad and wonder how such an easy engineering method was not followed by our Smart City counterparts, for which, we are being blamed for such lapses.”

One particular incident that highlighted the poor quality of work was the caving-in of a 2-kilometer road between Angol and Vadagavi in Belagavi South assembly constituency last March. Activists, including Ramakant Konduskar, raised their voice against the officials responsible for the project.

Konduskar revealed that the road that caved in was not even included in the project’s list. He claimed that the work was hurriedly undertaken just two months before the general elections, and due to the rush, the quality of work suffered, leading to the collapse. “As the work done bills could not be taken once the election was announced, the project was completed in just 2 days, where the quality of the work was not maintained, for which it caved in,” Konduskar said.

Belagavi and Davanagere were the only cities from Karnataka selected for the Smart City project in the first list. The project received equal contributions of ₹500 crore each from central and state governments.

Rajiv Topannavar, the Belagavi convener of the Aam Admi Party, criticized the design and plan of the Mandolli road project, stating that it was not technologically suitable or scientifically approved by Smart City engineers. He blamed the Smart City office for handing over the project to the construction agency before acquiring the required land and paying adequate compensation to landowners based on the market value.

As per the details obtained from the department, approximately ₹980 crore has been spent on the project, with around ₹20 crore required to complete the remaining works.

Belagavi City Corporation Commissioner, Ashok Dudaganti, told HT, “We are not giving permission to cut newly asphalted roads to lay underground pipelines, etc., even to the government agencies. If there is an emergency, the agencies have to return the roads to their original position.”

Afreen Banu, managing director, Smart City project, assured that the technological lapses in cement concrete roads are being corrected by the construction agencies.

The nationally recognised Visvesvarayya Technological University, based in Belagavi, has been appointed as a third party agency to supervise and certify the completed projects, along with a local engineering institute, to ensure the works meet the required standards before the construction agencies receive their last instalment of payment.