Patna. Patna High Court has expressed displeasure over the slow pace of ongoing road projects in Bihar. During separate hearings going on in the delay in construction of Hajipur-Chhapra NH and construction of Patna-Gaya-Dobhi NH, the High Court has summoned the construction companies in a strict tone. Both the road projects of the state are running at a very slow pace. The condition of Hajipur Chapra NH is such that the construction of the bridge on Gandak under this project has been stopped for years. The court has summoned the construction company with complete documents on the next date.
Present progress report to the court at the next hearing
On the delay in the construction of Hajipur-Chhapra NH, Patna High Court directed the construction company to present the progress report in the court at the next hearing. The court said that complete information should also be provided about the bridge to be built on the Gandak river. A division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Rajeev Roy gave this direction while hearing the PIL filed by Satyam Shivam Sundaram. During the hearing, the state government told the court that the construction company was very slow in the work. The pace of work is very slow. The construction of the bridge on Gandak river is almost stopped.
Construction of bridge near Anjanpir was completed
At the same time, the court was told by the construction company that it takes 21 days to erect a span on the bridge and set it. On this, the court said that complete information should be given about how many spans were erected in the last three months. The construction company has filed an affidavit and told the court that the construction of the bridge near Anjanpeer has been completed. Whereas the truth is that a one-lane bridge has been constructed and light vehicles have been allowed to travel on it. The court ordered the construction company to file an affidavit and clarify the situation and fixed the next hearing for Friday.
Expressed displeasure over stopping of road construction
It is expected that in the next hearing, strict instructions may be given by the court to the construction companies. Recently, the Patna High Court had expressed displeasure over the halt in road construction for a long time regarding compensation and said that if the acquisition has been done then the construction of the road should be continued there, the compensation will be settled on the basis of documents. It is not right to stop the construction work for this.
DM of Jehanabad district was instructed
Another case related to road construction, a PIL filed by Pratigyaan Sanstha, was listed for hearing in the division bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran. The court asked NHAI to clarify its position in this matter by January 19, 2024. Earlier, the court had directed the DM of Gaya and Jehanabad districts to remove the obstacles coming in the way in road construction.
Dedicated Front Corridor
Earlier, NHAI had filed an affidavit and given the details of expenditure of funds to the officials of Dedicated Front Corridor (DFC). Petitioner’s advocate Manish Kumar told the court that 85 percent of the road construction work has been completed, but due to the link road not being built, people are not able to move there. He said that transportation arrangements should be made to the extent to which the road construction work has been done.