Ahmedabad: Every year, as monsoon arrives with its waterlogged embrace, Ahmedabad's roads perform their breaking act without fail. This year is expected to not be different. In a clear waste of taxpayers' money, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) between 2020-21 and 2024-25 spent Rs 4,669.86 crore on resurfacing of existing roads and construction of new ones.

This data from the civic body's annual report shows that the expenditure includes Rs 2,283 crore for road projects, Rs 672 crore from zonal budgets, and Rs 1,714.86 crore through state govt grants under the Swarnim Yojana.Despite this significant expenses, complaints about deteriorating roads — especially during monsoon — continue to rise. Cave-ins have become a recurring issue, with 49 reported in 2021-22, 79 in 2022-23, 158 in 2023-24, and 50 in 2024-25, totaling 336 over four years.

To repair each cave-in, the civic body spends Rs 25 lakh. Additionally, more than 15,000 potholes appear annually during rains, with 19,000 recorded in 2024-25 alone.

Separate tenders are issued for pothole repairs, costing over Rs 1 crore per zone, and post-monsoon repairs cost between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore annually, sources said. On average, AMC spends Rs 350–Rs 400 crore annually on zonal resurfacing and Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore on new roads, which contradicts the actual state of affairs.

Frequent delays in both resurfacing and new road construction add to the inconvenience. "On average, about 150km of the total 2,700km of roads require repairs each year. Since each road comes with a three-year guarantee, there are always stretches that need maintenance annually," a senior AMC official said.

Commuters face daily struggles navigating potholed, waterlogged streets. Rickshaw driver Ashok Zala said, "I'm very cautious in waterlogged areas.

Not only can the water strain the engine, I've also had my rickshaw's front wheel fall into an exposed sewer hole I couldn't see." He seems to have caved in to the fact that, "You can't dodge all potholes." The chief auditor's report for 2023-24 has revealed that files related to resurfacing work worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore were not submitted for audits over the past five years. Since the 2017 scandal which revealed that duplicate bills were issued for road damage repairs and bitumen, audits of road works across AMC's seven zones have ceased.

Despite repeated requests from the chief auditor, zonal engineering departments have failed to provide necessary documents.

Opposition leader Shehzad Khan Pathan said, "Reviewing AMC's annual reports over the past five years shows Rs 4,669.86 crore spent on roads. Yet, 1.53 lakh road-related complaints were filed during the same period, clearly indicating that quality roads are still not being delivered." (With inputs from Aishwarya Patel)