NHAI tells contractor to complete road construction by month-end
Mukesh Tandon
Panipat, January 1
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has asked the contractor company to complete the widening work of 70-kilometer stretch from Mukarba Chowk in Delhi to Panipat on NH-44, by January 31. The project has been delayed by almost three years and is 95 per cent complete.The project is worth Rs 2,178 crore.
The Centre had allotted the tender of widening of the stretch on NH-44 to Essel Infra Projects Limited in 2015, during the first regime of the BJP-led government.
As per the tender agreement, the concessioner company had to complete the project by the end of 2019, but the company failed to do so. After that the NHAI re-allotted the tender of the project and the work to a new company, Well Spun, in 2019 and it had to complete the project by September 2021.
The project is scheduled to have 29 minor bridges, 10 flyovers, five vehicular underpasses, five passenger underpasses, 11-ft overbridges and 15 major road junctions on the 70-km stretch.
Meanwhile, the protesting farmers pitched tents and parked tractor-trailers on both sides of the NH-44 on November 26, 2020 at the Singhu border and covered around 10-kilometer area on the highway against the three farm laws of the Central Government.
The farmers vacated the national highway after the Centre repealed the three farm laws on December 11, 2021.
Due to the one-year-long protest, the widening work was hit in Sonepat. The work was also delayed due to technical issues in Panipat. The construction of six flyovers were delayed due to the protest and other reasons.
Anand Dahiya, Deputy General Manager (Technical), NHAI, said almost 95 per cent widening work of the 70 kilometer stretch on the NH-44 is complete.
Earlier, the timeline was fixed to complete the work by December 31 but due to some technical issues, including the National Green Tribunal’s directions, sometime shortage of raw material and less working hours during the winter, the work was delayed and now the timeline to complete the work has been extended to January 31, the DGM said.
