With only two weeks to go for the pre-monsoon deadline for road and drain works to be completed, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is struggling to meet the demands of the newfound stress on preparedness for disasters. First, even after allocating an additional Rs 110 crore for its works on widening and deepening the Mithi river, officials are unable to promise that a swollen Mithi will not cause floods as it did in 2005. Put simply, the civic administration has revealed that work will not be carried out as per the recommendations of the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), which had undertaken an extensive survey of the Mithi river. "What we will do is a partial deepening of the riverbed and building of a retaining wall at more places,' said Additional Municipal Commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava. "To carry out all the work as per the CWPRS suggestions will result in a variation of the contract by Rs 923 crore.' On Monday, the civic body said that Phase 2 of widening and training the Mithi river has resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs 110 crore over the estimated cost of Rs 291 crore. Phase II includes widening and deepening of the river, construction of retaining wall and service roads along an 11.8-km stretch handled by the BMC. The BMC is carrying out work on the Mithi river in five sections and contracts were awarded in March 2007, with a deadline of 16 months excluding the monsoon. However, certain additional work has now resulted in an additional Rs 110 crore burden for the BMC. Asked by corporators whether spending so much money just before the monsoon will prevent flooding, Srivastava said: "We are increasing the carrying capacity of the river, but if it rains more than the carrying capacity, then it can't be helped. We are trying to minimise the possibility of floods,' he said. Fresh tenders will be called later to complete the work as per CWPRS suggestions, he added. Next, the annual controversy over nullah (large drains) cleaning has started once again, with corporators claiming that not even 30 per cent of the work is complete so far. In a special meeting held to discuss the dredging of these nullahs, elected representatives complained that contractors have delayed the work with inadequate machinery and manpower. Worse, encroachments continue to dot the sides of nullahs, blocking their flow. "Had the civic administration been working efficiently round the year, there would not be any need for a review meeting,' said Congress corporator Sameer Desai. Since 2006, the BMC has been awarding contracts for round-the-year cleaning of these drains. Dredging and desilting work usually gain momentum during the onset of the monsoon. Standing Committee chairman Ravindra Waikar also directed the civic administration to blacklist those contractors who have failed to complete the work satisfactorily. For pothole-free rides during the monsoon, the BMC on Tuesday appointed 24 contractors, one for each administrative ward, for the reinstatement of trenches dug for various utilities and for conducting spot repairs to potholes. The contractors will be responsible for repairs from the next month till March 31, 2010. They will use Carboncor, a cold mix asphalting material. Srivastava said there will also be a third party quality audit for work carried out by these contractors.