As the bitumen prices continue to be high and the revised schedule of rates have not been published this July, floating of tenders for road work in the Chennai Metropolitan Area by various local bodies has been delayed. The delay in publishing the schedule of rates by the Public Works Department this year has led to a confusion in decision making on road relaying work, councillors said. According to the data released online by the State government, the schedule of rates were last published with effect from July 22, 2025, while bitumen rates skyrocketed in the past few months. Unless the revised schedule of rates are published this year, road relaying work cannot start after floating tender for damaged roads ahead of the Northeast monsoon, councillors said. Apart from that, this year, after Demand for grants [in the Assembly], we are expecting around ₹200-250 crore grants from various schemes for road relaying,” he said.