Delay in Nagaon-Dibrugarh highway works: House expresses concern

 Have taken up the issue with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari eight times: CM

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The inordinate delay in the completion of the four-lane work of the 380-km Nagaon-Dibrugarh National Highway (NH) came up for discussion in the Assam Assembly today, with both the ruling and opposition MLAs expressing resentment over the delay. The Chief Minister also said that he had met Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari eight times to apprise him of the growing disillusionment among the people of the State due to the delay in the completion of the construction works.

The autumn session of the Assam Assembly began today. For the first time after the Assam Assembly was shifted to Dispur from Shillong, the session of the Assembly took place in the new permanent building of the Assam Assembly.

During Question Hour, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MLA Biswajit Phukan said that even after eight years, the construction works of the Numaligarh to Dibrugarh stretch of NH-37 had not been completed. He added that considering this delay, the Public Works Department (PWD), Government of Assam, should intervene.

The work on this stretch of the four-lane national highway began in 2015. In reply, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “There are various reasons for the delay in completion of the Nagaon-Dibrugarh stretch of NH-37. I have taken up this issue with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari eight times. I have conveyed to him the growing disillusionment among the people of Assam due to the delay. Even after being given the target completion date, the NHIDCL (National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd) has failed to meet the target.”

The Chief Minister suggested to the Speaker that the Assam Assembly must constitute a core committee comprising all MLAs of Upper Assam. The core committee will sit for discussion with the NHIDCL authorities to find out the reasons for the delay and to ask them to expedite the construction works. The core committee will also monitor the construction works.

Chief Minister Sarma further said that the administration of the districts through which the national highway passes in Assam wasted a lot of time in land acquisition and shifting of utility services. As a result, many companies which had submitted tenders for the construction works withdrew later. Fresh tendering was called for and some companies got the work tenders after quoting low prices. However, they faced problems in getting the work done and left the work incomplete.

“We had even told NHIDCL that if they can’t complete the work, they should hand over the project to the Assam Government. But NHIDCL did not agree,” said Sarma. He added, “The progress of the work in the stretch from Jorhat to Teok is abysmally slow. A new company has now been given the work tender. We will request NHIDCL to ensure regular maintenance of the road till the entire work is completed.”

Congress MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah said that contractors do not use the best-quality bitumen. “The best quality bitumen is produced by IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Limited). But contractors buy bitumen from other companies. Due to the use of substandard bitumen, the roads get damaged again and again,” he said.

BJP MLA Padma Hazarika drew the attention of the House to the fact that not just the Nagaon-Dibrugarh stretch of NH-37 but the progress of construction of other highways in the north bank was also slow.

The Chief Minister said, “We (Assam Government) cannot tell the contractors from where and from whom they should procure bitumen as per the guidelines of the Government of India. But just as the Central Government has a panel of registered companies and suppliers, we will see if we can also come up with such a panel.”

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