JAMMU, Dec 15: The Jammu-Akhnoor 4-laning road project which was sanctioned by the Union Government during 2015 has jumped several deadlines and the project is again uncertain to meet the final December 31, 2024 deadline given by the NHIDCL, as the work on major bridge over Ranbir Canal near Dumi Malpur is yet to start.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the parent Company National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) had given final deadline of December 31, 2024 to the contractor M/s Tarmat Pvt Ltd to complete the work but the contracting agency is uncertain to complete this work within the given deadline as it has to launch work on the bridge over Ranbir Canal near Dumi Malpur, at the start of Bypass Road while the work on yet another bridge is going on and the approaches of the third bridge are yet to be completed.
Not only this, the work on about 11 kms of road is still incomplete and blacktopped work is also awaited. Now, since the winter season has set in, the macadamization work can not be initiated till March ending next year. The contractor has now approached the NHIDCL management to further extend the deadline for next six months but the Highway agency has taken a tough stance this time as the Contractor has already consumed about 6-7 years on this work which was allotted only for two years for completion of this task. The road is bumpy at many places and moreover, the required specifications as per NH norms have been avoided by the contractor due to the poor supervision by the NHIDCL officials concerned, the sources added.
Sources further revealed that the actual ground work on this 26.35 kms road project from Bhagwati Nagar/ Canal Head jammu up to Khati Chowk, a crossing near new concrete Chenab bridge near Akhnoor town along bypass road was started during 2018, though the project was sanctioned during 2015 as part of Prime Minister’s Development Package Projects.
“The Rs 917-crore project declared as NH-144-A, is nowhere closer to completion even today although NHIDCL had given July 31, 2023 as completion date to the contractor previously. The Tarmat sought one year’ s extension but NHIDCL told contractor to finally complete all the works in all respects including six bridges by the end of Dec 2024,” the sources added.
Four-laning of this strategic Jammu-Akhnoor highway, part of ambitious Centrally sponsored reconstruction scheme incorporated as National Project in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi missed the June ending 2021 first deadline and four after this (June 22, with one year extension due to COVID), inspite of the fact that it was set as priority project by the Central Government. But this ambitious project is likely to miss next deadline as about 12-13 % work is yet to be executed by the contractor, sources added.
Sources alleged that M/s Tarmat Ltd has sublet work to a local contractor and one from Jallandhar (Gupta & Aggarwal) with not much expertise in handling such type of projects. That is also one of the reasons behind the delay and poor quality of work. The contractors, however, alleged that NHIDCL authorities are causing delay in making payments and moreover, land at many places was not made available by them for executing work. The work on bridge over Canal near Suyya No. I (Akhnoor Bypass) has been suspended due to some dispute over design. The NHIDCL authorities need to resolve the issue for this bridge, they added.
Sources revealed that M/s Tarmat Ltd, a Mumbai based Infra development company signed an EPC Agreement on June 7, 2019 for the work of “Up-gradation to 4-lane with paved shoulder of Jammu-Akhnoor Road section of NH-144 A from Ganesh Vihar (Km 6.000) to Khati Chowk (Km 26.350) of 20.350 Km length in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir to be executed on EPC basis (Package-Ill)” at the contract price of Rs.193.99 cr, with construction period of 24 months commencing from the appointed date i.e. June 12, 2019 on the terms, conditions and covenants contained in the contract agreement which are in force and remain effective.
Sources further said that the date of achieving the milestones of the Project as per Contract Agreement (Schedule-J) are 23.03.2020 (MS-I i.e. 10%), 22.09.2020 (MS-II, i.e. 35%), 23.03.2021 (MS-Ill, i.e.70%) and 11.07.2021 (Scheduled Completion Date, i.e. 100%). However, EPC Contractor in complete disregard to the contractual stipulations achieved only 30.73% financial progress as on 27.07.2021 and failed to achieve the scheduled completion due to the defaults and breaches.
It is pertinent to mention here that the then Divisional Commissioner Jammu Dr Raghav Langer taking serious note during June 2021 had issued strict directions to the contractor to expedite the pace of work and achieve the agreed targets of work. He had also asked NHIDCL to take appropriate actions on the contractors in case of poor performance.
Considering the non- responsive, non-professional attitude of the EPC Contractor towards their obligations as per the provisions of the ‘Contract Agreement’ and failure to meet the agreed targets, the NHIDCL placed M/s Tarmat Ltd., in the ‘Negative List’ for one year during that period or till it achieves the Milestone-III, whichever is earlier, official added.
General Manager, Projects, NHIDCL , jammu Col (Retd) SP Sangwan when contacted said that except newly designed bridge over Ranbir Canal at Bypass Akhnoor, the Tarmat Company has been given final deadline of December ending 2024. He said hardly less than 15 % work is now left. He said as of now the work on two bridges was pending including one over Ranbir Canal near Akhnoor Bypass. The matter has been taken up with Irrigation Department afresh. There was some design issue which has also been resolved. The work on this bridge is likely to be launched shortly.
Col Sangwan further disclosed that the road work including blacktopping on nearly 9 kms stretch is pending. The company is seeking some more time and the matter will be taken up at higher level for the same. Replying to a question, the NHIDCL GM said there is no doubt that company has jumped several deadlines and was also put in the negative list but after seeing its performance, the company has been cleared from the list. He said the design of bridge over Ranbir Canal near Bypass was changed after objection by the J&K Irrigation department. The company has now proposed a steel bridge over the Canal.
