Fund meant for construction of road in Dhakuakhana allegedly misappropriated

LAKHIMPUR: At a time when the BJP-led State Government has shown zero tolerance towards corruption, massive misappropriation of fund has been alleged in the construction of Garhpora-Roha connecting road under Harhi Gaon Panchayat of Dhakuakhana subdivision of Lakhimpur district.

According to allegations of the local people, a contractor was engaged for the construction of a 5.717-km stretch of the aforementioned road along with a culvert and eight bridges under the supervision of Dhemaji Territorial Road Division. The construction work of the road was inaugurated by Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah and Dhemaji MLA Dr. Ranoj Kumar Pegu on April 7, 2018. The fund meant for the construction of the road was sanctioned under Package No. AS 15-246 under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) through PWD Lakhimpur State Road Division. According to the inaugural signboard which has marked the inauguration of the construction work of the road by the Lakhimpur MP and the Dhemaji MLA, the amount of fund meant for the construction of the road is Rs. 27,18,42,275.

The local people alleged that the contractor wanted to misappropriate the fund since the beginning. According to them, standard and adequate amount of stone, sand, cement and iron was not used while constructing the bridges. On the other hand, only mud mixed low category solid stones were used in high amount in the construction of the bridge posts and in the placing of the concrete of the superstructure, instead of using standard category crushed stones. Moreover, 80 per cent work of only two bridges out of eight is under progress while 30 per cent work of the remaining six bridges is still to be completed. The local people also alleged that the contractor had not constructed any subways for the convenience of communication of the public during the period of constructing the bridges.

Further, the road has not been constructed with blacktopping as per estimate but it is being constructed with CC paver blocks. In this regard, a signboard has clearly shown that the amount of soil to be used while constructing the road is 33606.72 cubic metre; layer of sand gravel 2265.56 cubic metre; two layers of crushed stone - first layer 1060.05 cubic metre and second layer 1060.05 cubic metre, then rolling in dry condition, then screening and then again rolling by using water, then blacktopping with due amount of primer coat, tack coat, pre-mix carpet and seal coat. Under such circumstances, local people have wondered why the road is being constructed with CC paver blocks violating the estimate.

Notably, the supervising engineer of the road from the Dhemaji Territorial Road Division arrived at the place on Sunday when local media persons visited the road. Local people have demanded an inquiry into the anomalies in the construction of the road.

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