| NHAI, ASEB to see if bottlenecks can be removed to meet deadline | ||
Guwahati, May 13 : Dispur has ordered a joint survey to be undertaken by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) to identify and remove the constraints from the East West Corridor project so that it can meet its 2010 deadline. This move comes in the wake of the ambitious Rs 5,500-crore 678-km four-lane project hitting one roadblock after another and the Centre keeping a hawk-like eye on its progress. The progress on the Srirampur-Silchar project, divided into 27 packages, that will see the four-laning of the NH 31, 31(C), 36, 37 and 54 has been between 25 and 73 per cent since work started in early 2006. Both the organisations have been asked to report back to Dispur by May 25. The survey was ordered during a review of the works departments undertaken by Dispur on Saturday after those associated with the projects, representatives of the PWD, the ASEB and the civil administration, started giving different reasons for the delay in certain stretches hindering the smooth functioning of the NHAI. The areas where the project has got stuck broadly are Barpeta, Morigaon, Chirang and Kamrup districts because of problems pertaining to shifting, installation and charging of electrical poles. The NHAI has to pay for the said exercise to the ASEB, sources said. While the NHAI has undertaken the exercise in some portions under the direct supervision of the ASEB, the state power major is carrying out the same from Tetelia to Nellie and Rangia to Guwahati on its own. The project has all but got stalled in NC Hills where 135-km stretch is being constructed at a cost of Rs 800 crore with construction firms engaged there threatening to pull out for want of conducive atmosphere. A high-placed ASEB source said it could carry out the exercise if it is given encumbrance-free land because there has been physical obstruction in some places but assured that things have started moving. “We cannot work even if there is a small stretch where there is objection,” he said. One of the sources said the problem needs to be looked into seriously by Dispur as the project would not only improve road connectivity within the state but also give a big boost to the economy. “One deadline has already been missed and the next will also be missed if Dispur cannot get all the stakeholders to share one objective — completion of the project instead of blaming one another for the delay. After all, missing deadlines will only dent the image of the state if it cannot get all-expenses paid national project completed on time. To complete the project, the NHAI needs to be supported as it is bearing all the expenditure,” a senior government official said. In fact, he pointed out that the problems faced by the NHAI remain more or less the same as cited during a DoNER meeting in 2007 — land acquisition, cutting of trees, shifting of electrical poles and law and order problem. “It’s a not a good advertisement for a state seeking investment and a greater pie of central assistance. You cannot work in NC Hills because of the law and order situation but what about the remaining portion? Are the state departments and agencies doing enough to see the project through?” the official asked, hoping the latest initiative is carried to its logical end. | ||
Joint survey on East-West project
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