Whopping amount of Rs 30.79 cr spent on consultancy
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Mar 28: Constructed with the cost of Rs 77 crores, 1.3 kms long Bikram Chowk- Gandhinagar Flyover is ‘infamous’ in the City of Temples for its bumpy drive and faulty elevations, raising serious question on the quality of work executed and the capability of the people connected with the project.
Inaugurated by the then J&K Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti on May 6, 2017 in presence of former Dy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, Speaker J&K Legislative Assembly- Kavinder Gupta and Member Parliament from BJP, Jugal Kishore Sharma, the then R&B Minister in the PDP-BJP Coalition Government, Abdul Rehman Veeri had ordered an inquiry after the general public raised fingers on the quality of work and faulty construction of this new flyover. However, what was the fate of that inquiry no body knows till date. The then ERA officials and the contractors after just `window dressing’, executed minor repair work on the flyover in hush-hush manner and managed to throw the probe into the ‘cold storage’.
The tax payers of the Jammu and Kashmir felt duped by the people at the `helm of affairs’ as their hard earned money has not been utilized properly. Leave aside a technical person or an engineer pointing out the technical defect in construction, even a common man of the city is also not happy with the quality of work executed on this flyover project. They feel that a speeding vehicle on this flyover may cause accidents and for this, the company involved in the construction and the consultancy agencies should be penalized for serious technical defects.
The gaps at the joints of girders on this flyover have widened unlike other flyovers in the City. This flyover is more prone to accidents and worst type of its elevations, have raised questions on the technical expertise of the agency and the contractors. The issue had invited attention of the general public immediately after its inauguration and also found place in many newspapers but some `influentials’ at the helm of affairs managed to protect the guilty. This is most popular demand of the general public to order a high level probe and punish the `culprits’ by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s Administration, involved in this `major scam’.
The drive on the other flyovers in the city at BC Road, Jewel Chowk and Bus Stand areas is very smooth. But this flyover from Bikram Chowk to Gandhinagar has apparently been found technically defective and full of errors. Even the elevations at both ends are not smooth and correct.
Sources in the R&B Department told the ‘Excelsior’ that ERA sanctioned this 1.3 kms long flyover project worth Rs 77 crore to Maharashtra based company- Balecha Engineering Ltd, having expertise in the field. This firm took its 10 % profit and sub-let the work to a Kashmir based firm- United Jhelum Constructions ( A joint venture of some people engaged in building rural roads and tourist facilitation works in Kashmir), having no expertise in the field. While the top ERA officials claimed that this project was tie-up between the Balecha Engg of Mumbai and Kashmir based contractors but in reality this entire project was completely handled by the Kashmir based firm, having political connections and the senior ERA officials even after knowing this all, maintained `criminal silence’ for the reasons best known to them.
Interestingly, the ERA engaged two Consultancies IPE Global, Delhi and CDS Smith, Bangalore for technical support and quality management and look after other aspects of this flyover project besides several other projects in Jammu. They were paid Rs 30.79 crore by the ERA for their services. They too, are equally responsible for the defect that has surfaced in the construction of this flyover project, the sources added.
A retired R&B Chief Engineer from Jammu when contacted told on the condition of anonymity that this flyover from Bikram Chowk to Women College, Gandhi Nagar in Jammu definitely has technical problem. Anybody can feel it while passing over this flyover. He said old flyovers in Jammu city have been constructed by the UP Construction Corporation and one can observe the quality of work performed. He further said vehicle faces jumps at the expansion joints.
“If it is not repaired, the bearings under the joints will get damaged inviting heavy maintenance cost. Then it will take hard labour and much time to lift the joints and replace the bearings. Both joints should have been smooth and well balanced and there is problem at most of the expansion joints. Their gaps are wider, which speaks of poor supervision by technical people and construction full of errors. These things should have been noticed during construction by the engineers and consultants given the task,” he observed.
Another technical expert in the field and retired Superintending Engineer R&B, RK Pandita expressed unhappiness over the quality of work executed on this flyover. He said this was sheer wastage of public money.
“This is not worth calling a flyover. There are certainly some defects as joints of the spans are not smooth. North and south elevations are also faulty. Even a common man can point out technical defects. The agency and the firm involved in the construction should be taken to task and responsibility should also be fixed on ERA officials connected with the project. It was their responsibility as well to check the quality of work and other technical aspects. They are heavily paid for it,” he added.
An official in the ERA said funds to the tune of Rs 13.57 cr was paid to IPE Global Consultancy for this project while CDS Smith was paid Rs 17.22 cr for their consultancy services for this flyover and a few allied works. He claimed that this project was delayed by about two and half years.
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