Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwat Man saying that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will be forced to cancel or terminate eight more severely-affected highway projects in the state if the law and order situation there does not improve. These projects span a total length of 293 kilometres costing Rs 14,288 crore.
He wrote that he had been informed about two incidents on Delhi-Katra Expressway projects. In one incident in Jalandhar district, the contractor’s engineer was brutally assaulted. “Although FIR has been registered in this regard, strong action is required to be taken against the perpetrators,” he further wrote.
The minister highlighted another incident in Ludhiana district, where miscreants attacked the contractor’s project camp for the Delhi-Katra Expressway and threatened to burn the camp along with the engineers and staff.
Despite written requests from NHAI officials, no FIR has been filed, and the culprits remain at large, he added.
Talking about cancelling the projects, Gadkari said that the projects in question are mainly greenfield corridors, adding that the cancellation of one package will cause the entire corridor to be useless.
He highlighted that several contractors have requested to terminate their contracts and have filed claims against the NHAI due to ongoing land acquisition issues and the current law and order situation.
The minister disclosed that the NHAI has already terminated three projects, worth Rs 3,263 crore, due to difficulties in land acquisition.
Referring to the recent review of NH projects held on July 15, which he chaired, Gadkari stated that he received assurances that the pending land acquisition and law and order issues would be addressed as a priority.
“However, it has been brought to my notice that no progress has been made in this regard and situation has further worsened,” he wrote.
(WIth PTI inputs)