Raipur Mayor Inspects Defunct Smart City Fountain, Issues Ultimatum to Contractor

Raipur Mayor Meenal Chaubey on Tuesday visited the historic Boodha Talab (Swami Vivekananda Sarovar) to inspect the ₹5-crore fountain installed by the previous government under the Smart City project. The fountain has reportedly been non-functional for a very long time.

During the visit, the Mayor expressed strong displeasure after finding the fountain shut despite repeated complaints from morning and evening walkers.

She immediately summoned officials of Raipur Smart City Limited to the site, including Sub-Engineers Shubham Tiwari and Yogendra Sahu.

Taking serious note of the prolonged lapse, Mayor Chaubey directed officials to issue an immediate notice to the contractor and to forfeit the contractor’s security deposit of ₹25 lakh (5% of the project cost).

She also instructed that the contractor be blacklisted if the fountain is not made operational without delay.

The Mayor emphasised that the entire government expenditure on public welfare projects must be fully utilised for public benefit. She further directed Smart City officials to restore the fountain at the earliest, warning that it will otherwise be removed.

Mayor Chaubey affirmed that ensuring 100% effective use of public funds in all civic projects will remain a top priority for the administration.

Also Read: ‘Chhattisgarh Investor Connect’ Kicks Off, CM Sai Holds Talks with Top Investors