Road Project meets dead end after spending Rs 44.59 crore

Improper plan mars alternative road

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: In Assam, examples of important projects going awry because of improper planning are many, but exemplary punishments to erring officials after fixing responsibilities are rare. Improper planning leads many projects to remain half-done for years and on, that too, after spending huge amounts.

One of the victims of such a practice is the road from Khanapara to Borjhar airport via Koinadhara, as an alternative road to National Highway 37. Started way back in 2009, the Rs 80.20-crore road project of the State PWD has been left half-done. It is almost certain that the road project has met its dead end, but after spending a whopping Rs 44.59 crore on it.

The hard facts that have led the road project to meet such a fate are nothing but a blatant violation of the existing rules. According to Rule 304 of the State PWD manual-1983, the work of no project can be started till the required land is handed over by the civil authority. Likewise, Section 2 of the Forest Act, 1988 (Amendment) says that no forest land can be used for non-forest purposes without approval from the Central government. However, the DPR (Detailed Project Report) of the alternative highway project was prepared by engineers without adhering to these two vital rules. They assumed that the permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest would be obtained in due course, and started the work of the project. The work, however, hit the roadblock at Garhbhanga RF (Reserve Forest) where 6.53 hectares of forest land has to be used for the road project. Only after facing the problem, in 2013 the PWD moved the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. In February 2014, the Union ministry rejected the State PWD’s plea. The construction of the road has been stopped since then. The need of an alternative road to the airport from Khanapara thus remained unfulfilled, that too, after spending Rs 44.59 crore.

Interestingly, the reply given by the State PWD to the CAG on this issue failed to satisfy the latter. The moot question is: will the State government make public what action it has taken against the guilty PWD officials?

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