Contractors sublet works to inexperienced locals
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 27: Compromising quality and in sheer violation of contract agreement, the two class A contractors, who secured allotment of works worth over Rs 54 crores including half a dozen bridges on Udhampur-Pancheri-Landhar Road have sublet the works in piece meals to several inexperienced locals while the completion is no where insight as hardly 20-25% work has been excuted on this road project after one and half year.
Official sources told the Excelsior that it was also part of agreement that the agencies who have been allotted works on 66 kms road length under PMGSY will also initiate maintenance work on the road, but they have miserably failed to conduct maintenance work while the officers at the helm of affairs have turned Nelson’s eye towards this task. Even the agencies responsible for monitoring quality of work, never bothered to visit the sites and take cognizance of the matter.
Entire road stretch not only up to Pancheri Tahsil headquarters, but up to Landhar has become accidental prone and maintenance of the road has become the least priority for the agencies, PMGSY or the R&B Division Udhampur. Sources said ‘Chobu Nallah’ which is the major bottle neck between Kainthgalli and Pancheri, has vertually turned ‘a gold mine’ for the concerned R&B authoritries as funds worth lakhs have been shown spent on the maintenance of this harldy 200 meters sliding road patch every year for the last more than 10 years, but actually hardly any sufficient work has been done on it.
This patch is still in the same state as it was 10 years ago. Eevn the contractor (B&L Constt/ Dr Shabir Ahmed) has not touched this patch till today despite the fact that he is doing work on the roads for the last more than one and half year. The progress on this road till now is hardly 20 % so far as per the Executive Engineer, PMGSY, Gurnam Singh.
Many accidents took place at this site and even at other locations on this road, taking toll of a large number of people but the agencies at the helm of affairs have taken no cognizance of the matter. They awake only for a few days when any mishap occurs but forget the issue even after a few weeks.
Hapless poor population of over 65,000 from Pancheri and Landhar area and nearly 40,000 from Mongri (Bhamagh) belt which is partly in Reasi district, has been left to suffer for their no fault. The condition of this road is almost same which was about 40 years back, especially from Kainthgali to Landhar.
Sources further revealed that upgradtion work on this road from Supply Morh Udhampur to Krimochi Mansar-Kanthgalli, 30.8 kms length with the cost of Rs 25.06 crore was allotted to contractor, Parshotam Singh (A former Patwari from Udhampur retired forcibly). The pace of work on the road is so slow that after more than one and half year hardly 25 % work has been performed while two years time was given by the R&B agency to the contractor.
The quality of work is also very poor and the main contractor has sublet the work to several local contractors with no experience. Even some have again sublet the works to others, at third place, making mockery of the system under the noose of PMGSY/R&B people.
Worst is the condition from Kaithgali to Pancheri-Landhar –Malti road which has been allotted to one Kashmir based contractor Dr Bashir by PMGSY Reasi Division. The pace of work is very very slow and progress is hardly 20 percent while contracror has already consumed one and half years time. If the pace of work remained same, this work will not be completed even in the next three years, the locals alleged. The executing agency has not even started work on the major bottle neck which is Chobu Nalla. Even a local PHE daily wager has been given some works of raising concrete retaining walls and land filling on this road.
Former MLA, Udhampur, Pawan Gupta when contacted alleged that pace of work on this road was very slow. There is no maintenance at all. Even after light rain or snowfall the road is closed. Highly sub-standard work is beig done and there is no check at all by the concerned wing of the R&B department.
He alleged that its performance has gone so low after Governor ‘s Rule and there seems to be no accountability of any officer . He said not only Pancheri-Landhar Road, worst is the condition of Kainthgalli-Mongri, Man Talai-Latti-Dudu- Basatgarh-Ramnagar and Chenani- Pattangarh Roads.
Executive Engineer, PMGSY Udhampur, Ashok Khokhar when concted said work on 27.7 kms Supply Morh-Kaithgalli Road with the sanctioned cost of Rs 21 crore was started in September 2018.
He said forest clearance remained the major hurdle but it stands cleared now. While the 2 years completion target was given to the agency but now they have been asked to complete the work by December 2020. Though he claimed that about 25-27 % work has been excuted till today, yet he said he was expecting completion of the work even before the given target of Dec 2020. He added that width of blaktopping would be 3.75 mtrs while the total width of the road will be 6 mtrs.
Gurnam Singh, Executive Engnieer, PMGSY Reasi when asked why the work could not be started even after the passage of one and half years at Chobu Nalla bottleneck, where huge funds have been exhausted by R&B in last one decade, said, it is sliding zone and road needs frequent filling. A team of Geologists would visit the area shortly and give opinion. After their report the work would be started on this patch. When asked who will do maintenance work on the road, the XEn said contractor will have to do it as it is part of contract agreement.
Singh further claimed that work on 30.8 kms road length from Kainthgalli to Landhar with the cost of Rs 25.06 crore has been allotted to a Srinagar based company B&L Construtions and Jammu based contractor, BS Builders. He said allotment of the work was made in Sept 2018 and now completion target has been fixed as March 2021.
He admitted that pace of work was slow as hardlty 20 % work has been performed but hoped that contractors will be asked to expedite the work. On the issue of subletting works to locals, the XEn denied having any knowledge. He further said that apart from this road, work on six bridges with the total cost of Rs 653.22 lakh are being constructed on the road. He further claimed that funds to the tune of Rs 793.13 lakh have been spent on this road so far.
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