How officials plundered roads using the example of the Saratov region

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev called the Saratov roads one of the worst in the Volga Federal District. Among the reasons for this state of the road network, he listed the negligence of officials and corrupt and fraudulent actions in the development of funds allocated for the road industry. Saratov deputies and social activists believe that the state of the road surface in the region really leaves much to be desired, but the reason for this is insufficient funding from the federal center.

The roads of the Saratov region are recognized as one of the worst in the Volga Federal District. This statement was made by the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev at the visiting meeting with the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov in Izhevsk. “The worst situation is observed in the Saratov and Penza regions and the Chuvash Republic. The poor quality of the road surface is often not only a consequence of the negligence of officials, but also the result of corruption and fraudulent actions related to the theft of funds allocated for the construction and repair of roads,”he said.

Summing up the results of his speech, Mr. Patrushev recommended that the heads of the regions take personal control of the state of the road network and the implementation of the regional road safety program, including financing issues.

Andrey Tenishev, head of the anti-cartel department of the FAS Russia, also spoke about possible corruption and collusion in the field of road construction this week. “Now there is a suspicion that a cartel in the field of road construction and road repair may operate in Saratov. However, from suspicion to accusation is a lot of work. You can't just blame on the grounds that the price is too high. The average time for a good cartel investigation is six months,”he said at a press conference on March 12.

The budget of the Saratov region for the development and maintenance of the regional road network in 2019 provides for financing in the amount of RUB 10.81 billion, in 2020 - RUB 8.98 billion, in 2021 - RUB 9.23 billion. For the construction and reconstruction of public roads of regional and intermunicipal significance, bridges and bridge crossings, which are state-owned by the region, 158.81 million rubles will be spent this year at the expense of the regional road fund. Under the item "overhaul, repair and maintenance of public roads of regional and intermunicipal importance, bridges and other artificial structures on them, owned by the region", 4.53 billion rubles will be allocated from the regional road fund this year.

In general, the road fund for 2019 was approved in the amount of 11, 15 billion rubles.

The Ministry of Transport and Roads of the region told Kommersant that they agree with the assessment of the state of the roads by Nikolai Patrushev, but they claim that it was the result of financing roads "on a leftover basis." "Until 2015, due to a shortage of funds from the regional road fund, only work on road maintenance was carried out on the regional road network," the department explained. According to the regional ministry of transport, only 9% of the roads are in good condition.

Deputy of the Saratov City Duma Dmitry Kudinov (United Russia) believes that the roads in the region are not the worst. “I have traveled to different regions. There are, of course, many questions about our roads, but I would not say that in other regions they are much better. We have something to work on, and this is what we are doing,”he said.

Deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma Alexander Anidalov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) agrees with the statement of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation about the state of the roads in the region, but calls the main reason not corruption, but underfunding of the industry.

“Regarding corruption, I can’t say that, I’m not a court, but it looks like it’s true. It seems to me that the main reason is the acute underfunding of regional and local budgets. We are not given the authority to manage federal funds. This statement of Mr. Patrushev is interesting because he not only can voice this information, but also make a decision. Therefore, now we are all sitting and waiting, whether it was just a statement or some kind of action will follow."

The head of the executive committee of the ONF in the Saratov region, Sergei Sharov, says that 493 objects are marked on the ONF project "Map of the killed roads" and most of them are located in Saratov. “Repaired roads, as a rule, do not last longer than the warranty period that contractors give them. Basically it is three years. Three years later, the condition of the repaired sections often becomes abnormal, rutting appears. Therefore, we should rather speak about the quality of the road repair itself,”summed up Mr. Sharov.