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Journalism of Courage
EVEN the situation in Jammu and Kashmir hasn8217;t been able to stop the national highway project 8212; a dream to link all metropolitan cities in the country through a super expressway 8212; in its tracks. It8217;s purring on schedule in all states, say proud officials of the National Highway Association of India. Except in Bihar.
When the Union Budget was presented in February, the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had claimed that the Golden Quadrilateral project would be completed by the end of 2003. Cut to Bihar, where the project is still mired in various problems.
According to the schedule, 20 per cent of the work should have been completed by now. But Jaspreet Singh Bhullar, deputy project manager at LG Engineering Construction Corp LGEC, which was awarded the contract for a 45-km stretch between Mohania and Sasaram, said: 8216;8216;We have completed nine per cent of the work8230;some problems are still being resolved.8217;8217;
Right from the beginning, the Rs 299-crore project ran into problems. At first it was extortions threats and contract demands from the local mafia. There was even a bomb blast in front of the LGEC office. The result: workers and engineers left in droves, refusing to work on the project. According to the police, trouble started when a gangster-turned-MLA, who was doing time at the Sasaram Jail, demanded protection money. So the don was allegedly given a Rs 24-crore contract to supply sand and boulders. This spurred others to join the bandwagon, with rival MLAs too getting into the act.
8216;8216; Once you start indulging the mafia, there is no end to it. You invite problems,8217;8217; said Bihar IG Operations Nilmani, who was sent to Sasaram after the bomb blasts.
After the problem of mafia gangs demanding sub-contracts was somewhat resolved, another stumbling block cropped up. The non-availability of stone chips needed for the hi-tech concrete pavement threatened to derail Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee8217;s dream project. 8216;8216;We require 11 lakh tonnes of boulder stone for chips. But since the State Government has imposed a ban on stone quarrying, we are facing a serious problem,8217;8217; said Bhullar. Repeated requests for leasing a quarry have also been turned down. At present, the proposal is pending with the State government.
Besides, the temples along the stretch marked for the project have also caused serious delays. Initially, the State Government had promised that they would remove the temples. But once the project was underway, it asked LGEC to remove them, a demand which the company turned down. 8216;8216;We don8217;t want to demolish these temples because it is a sensitive issue,8217;8217; said Bhullar.
Now, officials say the administration is trying to resolve the issue. 8216;8216;We are holding talks with the local people and hope to resolve the situation,8217;8217; said District Magistrate Ehsaan Ahmad.
The shortage of an experienced workforce is another problem which has to be overcome. According to a site engineer, even now there aren8217;t enough workers at the site. 8216;8216;This project will not be completed before 2005. But we will be happy to see the end of it. The problems we are facing are unique to this state,8217;8217; said another site engineer.
The entire Bihar part of the project has been divided into four segments. LGEC, which was awarded one section IV B, had sub-contracted it to Punj Llyod and Ce Construction. However, the NHAI later directed the LGEC to cancel the sub-contract to CeCon since the original contract did not provide for sub-contracts. Wranglings like this have also contributed in delaying the project further.
The fourth part of the project has been awarded to Nagarjuna Construction Company, which will be building the Sasaram bypass, cutting through the Naxalite-controlled hills in the area. That could throw up yet more problems.
Meanwhile, the initial fear of the mafia has still not gone away. 8216;8216;The earlier problems kidnapping, bombing can surface anytime,8217;8217; said an official at the site, adding, 8216;8216;the Prime Minister8217;s dream ends where Bihar begins.8217;8217;
