13.88% of work complete on Jatinga to Harangajao two-lane road, Gauhati HC informed

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam government, through an affidavit filed on January 19, 2024, informed the Gauhati High Court that the construction work on the two-lane road from Jatinga to Harangajao Section in the Dima Hasao district is 13.88% complete as of January 13, 2024.

The road forms part of the East-West Corridor Project, the construction work on which was moving at a very slow pace, as the HC observed earlier. This led the HC to register a Suo Moto PIL case.

A division bench of the HC issued an order directing the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to file a further progress report on or before February 29, 2024.

The instant affidavit was filed following an earlier order on November 17, 2023, by the HC, directing the NHAI to submit the progress report of the construction work (two-lane road) of the Jatinga to Harangajao Section (Package AS-21) of the East West Corridor by January 18, 2024. 

The High Court registered the suo moto PIL (1/2023) after it was observed that the East-West Corridor Project was progressing at a snail’s pace. An earlier affidavit, filed by the counsel for the Chief Secretary of the Assam Government on November 17, 2023, stated that the construction work on the two-lane road from Jatinga to Harangajao Section in the Dima Hasao district will be completed on or before March 31, 2024. The affidavit also gave details of the work that was being done at that time.

This led the High Court, during the hearing of the PIL, to ask the NHAI to monitor the progress of the road and to file a further progress report.

In an earlier hearing in March 2023, the Project Director of the NHAI informed the High Court that they would make all sincere efforts to ensure the completion of the project within the stipulated three-year period. The state government also stated that the work will be completed on or before March 31, 2024.

Directing the NHAI to file a further progress report on or before February 29, 2024, the bench fixed the next date for hearing the case on March 4, 2024.

Also read: Jatinga-Haflong road will be four lane: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma

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