Jamshedpur-based NGO Jan Kalyan Morcha will monitor the four-laning work on Adityapur-Kandra Road.
The Morcha, which spearheaded the agitation for reconstruction of the dilapidated stretch, decided to monitor construction after it detected anomalies in the work that began a fortnight ago.
Morcha president Om Prakash said they would meet over the weekend to discuss the issue. "We will draw up a strategy to ensure proper monitoring so that people of this area get a quality road," he said.
Om Prakash said though the work on the ambitious project had started, executing agency Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILandFS) had not submitted any project specifications either to the road construction department or to the Seraikela-Kharsawan district administration.
"The road construction department is yet to get any documents related to the construction activity. We also approached the deputy commissioner of Seraikela-Kharsawan, R.K. Agarwal, who gave a similar reply. As the road is being reconstructed with a sizeable budget, we wanted to ensure that specifications were followed. The old problems should not crop up again," said Om Prakash.
When contacted, Agarwal said he would soon ask executive engineer (Seraikela-Kharsawan) of the road construction department to verify the ongoing construction work.
The 15.3km-long Adityapur-Kandra Road, the lifeline of the industrial area on the outskirts of the steel city is being reconstructed as a four lane highway at an estimated cost of Rs 185.5 crore. ILandFS and Jharkhand Accelerated Road Development Company Limited (JARDCL) has jointly taken up the project on a private-public-partnership (PPP) basis.
The reconstruction work started in the end of October and the project is expected to be completed within two years.
The Adityapur-Kandra road was first constructed between 2005 and 2007 at a cost of Rs 25 crore. But within a year, the road gave way, with gaping potholes making it difficult for heavy vehicles to negotiate the stretch.
The NGO filed its PIL in September 2008, demanding reconstruction of the road. It also demanded action against the construction company and engineers of the road construction department as per the Bihar Specified Corrupt Practices Act, 1983.
Engineer-in-chief of road construction department Ram Naresh Raman said ILandFS should provide the specifications of the project before the work progresses further. However, senior manager of ILandFS Alok Kumar refused to comment on the issue.
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