‘Will blacklist erring contractors’

Our Correspondent

Nurpur, July 31
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Vikramaditya Singh said his department would ensure quality, transparency and completion of works on time. Addressing mediapersons here today, before leaving for his two-day visit to Chamba district, he said the department had strengthened its quality control wing. He said he had directed officials to take random samples from under- construction roads and conduct laboratory testing to ensure quality. He said the department officials had been instructed to declare the names of negligent contractors, who didn’t maintain quality up to the prescribed standards so that they could be blacklisted after issuing one warning.
The minister said villages with a population of 100 to 200 people, as per the 2011 census, which had no road connectivity would be connected with major roads under the upcoming Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) phase-IV. Vikramaditya said the 33 roads under the MLA priority, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) schemes were being constructed in the Nurpur PWD circle. He said the department would use advanced Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) technology to construct roads in the state. He said, “The PWD will construct five bridges and spend Rs 6.50 crore on road construction in the Nurpur division under PMGSY-III.”
Vikramaditya, who is also the Minister of Urban Development, when asked about the completion of the sewerage system project in Nurpur which has been hanging in the balance since 2007 said he would take a report from the department officials and ensure early completion of the work. Former chief minister Virbhadra Singh had laid the foundation stone of the project in 2007 but it could not be commissioned even after 17 years.