BHUBANESWAR: With National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) initiating action against two senior officials posted in the state, heads began to roll over irregularities and tardy progress of Cuttack-Sambalpur NH 55 expansion work.
Sources said the NHAI suspended project director (technical) AS Rao along with a finance officer for allegedly showing undue favours to Hyderabad-based infrastructure company Gayatri Projects Ltd.
The firm bagged contract for the four-laning work of Cuttack-Sambalpur section of NH-55 (old NH-42) at a cost of `2,367 crore, which later escalated to Rs 4,482 crore as the highway expansion is underway for last seven years.
NHAI sources said Rao, who was posted at Dhenkanal, was transferred to Keonjhar section a few days ago before being placed under suspension. An internal audit reportedly had been initiated against the two officers. While NHAI officials remained tight-lipped, sources informed TNIE that more heads are likely to roll.Meanwhile, Sunil Kumar, a DGM at the NHAI regional office, has been given the additional charge of Keonjhar project director.
Nearly 40 per cent of the 263-km NH 55 four-laning work, which was to be completed by 2020, is incomplete. Divided in three packages, the expansion project had begun between 2017 and 2018. Gayatri Projects Ltd backed out of the project after the firm went bankrupt following severe financial crisis. Though it has appointed three sub-contractors, approved by the NHAI, to execute the pending works of NH-55, excess payments were made to the contractor.
On March 6, TNIE published a detailed report titled ‘From Cuttack to Sambalpur, the unending NH-55 pain’ highlighting the factors behind inordinate delay in completion of the highway.