Potholes on 28-km stretch: Outer ring road under CBI scanner for corruption in construction?

Within five months of its opening, major potholes surfaced on the stretch between Sitapur road and Dewa Road, following which the issue of poor construction was raised in August while action was recommended by the NHAI against the work agencies during that period

LUCKNOW Hailed as a game-changer for commuters since its inauguration in March, the 104-km outer ring road in the VIP constituency of defence minister Rajnath Singh could well be under investigation by the CBI over allegations of corruption in construction.

Samples taken from the stretch reportedly failed in the lab test. (File Photo)

Within five months of its opening, major potholes surfaced on a 28-km stretch of the road, between Sitapur road and Dewa Road, following which the issue of poor construction was raised in August while action was recommended by the NHAI against the work agencies during that period. However, NHAI officials gave a plea that the stretch that developed potholes was made in 2022.

Samples taken from the stretch reportedly failed in the lab test. The ring road, which is a quadruple carriageway, connects six state highways, including Sultanpur road, Rae Bareli road, Hardoi road, Kanpur road, Ayodhya road, and Sitapur road. It is significant for commuters of Barabanki, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Sitapur, Gonda, Hardoi and Varanasi.

The CBI is looking for documents related to the construction and officials visited the office of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the agency that develops, maintains and manages national highways.

“Documents of the outer ring road have been sought by the CBI. The agency routinely collects documents about certain projects of the NHAI,” said Sanjeev Varma, regional head, NHAI.

The CBI, according to sources, has collected documents related to the tender process, work allotment, road construction and maintenance. A team also visited the ring road to take stock of construction work while a list of employees and contractors was also made and they may be called for questioning. An FIR was likely to be filed in the matter, after which officials and contractors could be questioned, said sources.