Itanagar, Aug. 29 (PTI): Union Minister V K Singh on Thursday said delay in completion of road projects in the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh will not be tolerated and action will be taken against contractors if they fail to complete work on time.
Taking a review meeting of road projects in the state along with Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Arunachal East MP Tapir Gao here, Singh expressed concern over prolonged delay in completion of projects despite repeated assurances from contractors.
“I make it clear that the Ministry will not tolerate lackadaisical attitude of contractors, which amounts to betrayal to the country. We will ensure tough actions against such contractors,” the Union Minister of State for Road, Transport & Highways (MoRTH) said.
He said government will encourage private sector and entrepreneurs, especially local, to execute as much projects as possible but would not be lenient when it comes to timely completion and quality of work, an official release said.
Admitting that the issue of land acquisition vis-a-vis land compensation was a major hurdle not only in Arunachal Pradesh but across the country, the minister assured that his ministry would accept all genuine cases.
He, however, pointed that many land compensation cases are ‘illegal’ and these must be nipped at the bud by the state administration.
While expressing concern over repeated landslides and sinking-zones disrupting road communication in the state, Singh called for bringing in new technology to deal with the issue.
“Our Ministry is open to new technologies. Our focus should not only be in building roads but also preventing landslides and mud-sinks that destruct the road every monsoon,” he said and urged technical experts to come up with innovative ideas.
For smooth execution of road projects, he called for proper cooperation and coordination amongst all Central agencies and state agencies.
He suggested that review meetings may be taken at the level of the chief secretary every month and under the chief minister every third month.
He assured the presence of representatives from all Central government agencies like the BRO and NHDCIL.
The chief minister submitted a five-point memorandum concerning roads and highways in Arunachal Pradesh.
The memorandum includes approval and sanction of 4-laning of Itanagar to Banderdewa, approval of four National Highway projects, Bhutan-China-Myanmar corridor along the international border under ‘Bharat Mala’ scheme of the Government of India and sufficient fund for restoration of damages caused by flood to existing roads and highways.
Khandu assured that bottlenecks concerning land acquisition and compensation as highlighted by the executing agencies would be resolved on priority.
