Even the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can’t spot signs on this stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral’s Delhi-Kolkata arm and see a clear road to December 2003. All it must hear are alarm bells as two foreign companies — a Chinese and a Russian, both parading themselves as one of the best in the business of roads in their respective countries — throw the Prime Minister’s dream highway out of gear. On the Shikohabad-Etawah section. Express photo by Mustafa Quraishi ‘‘Working with them is like dealing with the East India Company,’’ says one of the sub-contractors. ‘‘They can’t even speak English, let alone Hindi, and function through interpreters. They hardly communicate and don’t treat us well. To add to that, their cheques also bounce. I have been running after them for a Rs 17,000 cheque that has just bounced.’’ CCCGC did have Indian engineers, but they quit in February after their salaries were not paid on time. The departure was not pleasant and some among the Chinese staff were roughed up. The door across the ‘‘Great Wall’’ has been shut since, with interpreters, drivers and the odd sub-contractor awaiting his payment being the only Indians with access. But CCCGC Project Engineer Quan Jizheng passes the buck to ‘‘Indian conditions’’. ‘‘I agree the work is way behind schedule. But what can we do, the conditions are very different here. We were told imported equipment will arrive in 30 days, it came in 90 days. Removing houses and shops from the construction site takes so long; in China, these encumbrances are removed overnight. To build a bridge across a canal here, there are so many clearances needed! Nevertheless, we think we are better placed now and should be able to complete the work as per our contract.’’ However, early completion, Jizheng told The Indian Express, was a request ‘‘difficult to promise’’. That’s an understatement. Even by its revised benchmarks, the company should have completed close to 3 per cent of the task by February 1. It had finished just 1.69 per cent. Jizheng also admits that the delay has upset the financial cycle. Since the returns to a company escalate with every stage of completion, CCCGC by not even finishing its initial task has landed in a financial mess. Jizheng admits: ‘‘When we had the money, we didn’t know how to sped it and when we needed money, we found thee was no money.’’ This is coupled with the pervasive feeling in the camp that the company bid ‘‘far too less’’ — Rs 157.5 crore — for the work. If the Chinese contractor is paying the price of remaining aloof and displaying little trust in its Indian staff, the case of Centrodorstroy is the other extreme. The Russian contractor, which got the job a year before CCCGC, in March 2001, went to the extent of naming an Indian outfit, Mukand Steel, as its identified material, equipment and manpower supplier. A company with little or no experience in constructing roads, Mukand Steel, official sources say, would never have qualified to even bid for a contract in the GQ. The arrangement with Centrodorstroy has, however, allowed this pre-dominantly steel-related firm to gain a foothold in road construction. Mukand’s gain has been NHAI’s loss. Centrodorstroy’s performance in its two stretches — 77 km between Fatehpur and Khaga, and 72 km from Handia to Varanasi — has been nothing to write home about. Against a physical progress target of 30.19 per cent in the first section by February 1, the contractor had achieved a mere 2.86 per cent. The other section did marginally better, 3.84 per cent, against a target of 16.34 per cent. The monthly progress report for March 2003 for the first stretch clearly states that the firm is in no position to complete the work by its due date, March 2004, let alone the advanced deadline of December 2003. ‘‘The contractor shows poor management and planning, lack of coherent organisation, protracted delay in the mobilisation of equipment and inadequate supply of materials.’’ Cong: GQ delay is inexcusable New Delhi: Taking the Government to task for the delay in the Golden Quadrilateral highway project, as highlighted in the first of a series of reports by The Indian Express, the Congress today said there could be ‘‘no excuse for not performing well.’’ Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said, ‘‘It’s regrettable that the prestigious project is facing serious and severe slippages.’’ Deploring the delay in completion of works on stretches across the country, he said: ‘‘When the Government does not suffer from lack of finances, on account of the special cess levied on diesel and petrol, there’s no excuse for the Government not to perform well.’’ ENS This strictly confidential report (available with The Indian Express) is equally harsh on Mukand Steel. ‘‘The main contractor, and its manpower, plant and equipment supplier, Messers Mukand, are still grossly undermobilised. Equipment available on site is totally inadequate for the required productivity. Availability of personnel is also inadequate with frequent changing of key personnel adversely affecting progress.’’ With the writing on the wall, Centrodorstroy Deputy General Director L.G. Efremov is at pains to emphasise they are serious about the work they have undertaken. Caught in a financial tangle like CCCGC, he wants NHAI to go slow on appropriating the money advance released at the start of work. ‘‘We have flown in equipment from Russia which took time. But now we are fairly comfortable and as we have mentioned in our revised proposal to NHAI, we plan to work overtime and complete a good portion of the new two lanes by December.’’ This, incidentally, is the third reply he has had to file explaining the company’s non-performance in the past three months. Efremov also puts up a stout defence of Mukand Steel, saying: ‘‘In order to supply material, no experience is required in road construction.’’ Efremov’s cousins a couple of hundred kilometres ahead have given up this obstinacy. This stretch from Handia to Varanasi was also far behind the rest till last April. Then Mukand was forced to revamp its entire team on the site. The company hired a new set of highway specialists fresh after constructing the Indore-Dewas road in Madhya Pradesh. The physical progress has improved considerably, though it is still well below par. Sensing that the late resurgence may still not help finish the task on time, Centrodorstroy Project Engineer A.V. Tambalev now wants NHAI to change the scope of the contract, which demands that the entire 72 km of new two-lanes be concrete. ‘‘We want them to reduce this to 32 km of concrete, as soil in the remaining portion is too loose and not suitable for a concrete top. But I hope to finish 32 km of new two-lanes by December,’’ says Tambalev. Caught in a bind, NHAI officials say they have no choice but to endure if the work in these stretches has to be completed on time. ‘‘Ideally, a couple of these three contracts should be terminated,’’ says an NHA official. ‘‘But we fear that will delay matters further. All we can do is persuade and assist them wherever possible.’’ (Tomorrow: Golden paddy in the way of Golden Quadrilateral) PREVIOUSLYThe Great Indian Road Show Crawls
