Despite CM’s announcement, PWD denies being Gurgaon’s nodal road repair agency

In September 2016, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced that the PWD would be the nodal agency for the repair work.

The public works department (PWD) officials said that the department was not appointed as the nodal agency to complete the road repair work i Gurgaon. This is in the backdrop of deadline to complete the road repair work being postponed for the third time, to July 15.

MCG workers repair the damaged road in Sector 15 part 2 on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

In September 2016, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced that the PWD would be the nodal agency for the repair work. The chief minister had set a November 1, 2016 deadline for the work but officials said that they were unable to complete the work due to
monsoon.

Their allotted work is either being transferred to other departments owing to non-completion or confusion among the various wings of the administration who are to work in tandem for the project, PWD officials said.

Now, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) officials have directed their departments to repair roads by July 15.

“Numerous intimations were sent to PWD for repairing roads. However, the department was evasive and did not carry out any repair. Hence, the work was once again allotted to MCG and a revised deadline has been set for July 15,” a senior district administration official said.

Despite being appointed the nodal agency and the same publically announced by the chief minister on September 5 and again a week later, at the foundation stone ceremony of underpasses on NH-8, PWD officials refuted it.

“There is some miscommunication; PWD was never appointed the nodal agency. Rather, the MCG had been directed to take PWD’s assistance in the project upon their convenience. MCG has allotted three road repair projects but since we have only received one-fourth of the funds (Rs37 crore). Work is yet to begin,” Rajeev Aggarwal, superintending engineer of PWD, said.

The three projects involve repairing a seven-kilometre stretch of Pataudi road, stretches of Behrampur road towards Jharsa village and a two-km stretch of Carterpuri road.

Aggarwal said that clearance for these projects is awaited from the forest department while electricity poles on the stretches also need to be removed by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, which is hindering PWD from completing the work.

Rao Narbir Singh, Haryana PWD minister, said that he will discuss the issue with officials and take necessary action.