The dilapidated condition of the country’s most expensive Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway has ruined the image of the Union Ministry of Road Transport. The department and NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) are facing disrepute all around.
NHAI had to blacklist the construction company of a BJP leader’s brother. In a hurry, the Authority tried to show by taking action against some officers that it would not spare those responsible.
But the truth is that there are others responsible on whom no action has been taken. Because when the expressway was being built for a long time, what were the officers sitting above doing? Did they check the quality or allow morang and asphalt to be laid based on estimates? Are those responsible for the shoddy construction being protected?
In this report by Dainik Bhaskar, we will tell who else is responsible for this. First, let’s tell which 3 officers NHAI held responsible and took action against them-
- Vivek Kumar Gupta, Project Manager, PNC Infratech
- Saurabh Chaurasia, Former Project Director, NHAI
- Nakul Prakash Verma, Current Project Director, NHAI
Major culprits of the irregularity, against whom no action was taken
Responsibility – NHAI’s Regional Officer Gautam is based in Lucknow. His job is to monitor NHAI projects in UP and conduct quality checks through periodic site visits.
Negligence – Initially, the first defect came to light on July 26. Then he tried to suppress the matter. He said there was a problem with bitumen (coal tar) in a small area. After the matter got out of hand, action was taken against the Project Manager and the Director.
Dainik Bhaskar tried to contact Vishal Gautam. The call was answered, but immediately disconnected. When called again, the phone was not picked up.
Responsibility – After Saurabh Chaurasia, Sharad became the Project Director of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway and remained in this position for about 1 year. He was responsible for managing important technical arrangements during construction.
Negligence – During his tenure, instead of inspecting the quality by visiting the site, he blindly trusted files and reports. Due to less visits to ground zero, he kept approving every file with ‘OK’, overlooking construction deficiencies. Dainik Bhaskar tried to contact him, but it was not possible.
Responsibility – He is the head of PNC Infratech, the company building the expressway. The company is named after 3 brothers – Pradeep, Naveen, and Chakresh. Naveen Jain is a Rajya Sabha MP from BJP.
Negligence – Secured a two-phase tender by bidding a total of ?2926 crore, but paid no attention to site monitoring and quality control during construction. No concrete information could be found about them either. Could not be contacted despite efforts.
Now know about two cases of irregularities, in which the company owner was held responsible-
- A section of the Vivekananda Road flyover under construction in Kolkata collapsed. More than 26 people died. West Bengal Police registered a case of murder and culpable homicide against IVRCL. Top officials associated with the company’s management were arrested. The Hyderabad-based company’s headquarters was also sealed.
- CBI registered a case and made arrests against the MD, Director, and Promoter of SEW Infrastructure on charges of allegedly bribing NHAI officials in highway projects to obtain construction quality reports and NOCs.
What was the responsibility of the officials against whom action was taken?
Responsibility- He was the highest-ranking officer for construction work in the field. It was his responsibility to get every layer of soil and gravel inspected and send the report upwards.
Negligence- Ignored quality and committed irregularities in the field.
Action- On July 30, NHAI removed him from the project and banned him for 2 years.
Responsibility- He remained Project Director from the start of construction until 2024. The maximum construction happened during his tenure.
Negligence- Instead of inspecting on-site, he blindly trusted PNC’s reports. The foundation of irregularities was laid during his time.
Action- NHAI has issued a charge sheet, framing the charges.
Responsibility- Posted in the position for the last 1 year. The work was completed and inaugurated during his tenure.
Negligence- 95% of the Greenfield area work was completed a year ago. Still, they gave an ‘all okay’ report without checking the quality.
Action- Removed from NHAI and attached to PWD.
3 Crores Spent to Repair Sunken Expressway
According to NHAI, 3 crores have been spent so far on the repair of the 63 km long expressway. This cost will be borne by PNC Infratech. The company has also been fined 2% of the performance security.
The negligence of Theme Engineering Services Private Limited, which monitors the quality of construction, has come to light. Therefore, this company will be excluded from future projects.
NHAI itself is getting the quality checked
After the embarrassment, NHAI will now get the expressway inspected with a laser profilometer. This technique uses a laser beam to measure the texture, roughness, and height of an object’s surface. It creates an accurate 3D map of the surface without touching it, which will precisely reveal the irregularities.
After the lane coming from Unnao towards Lucknow caved in, fans had to be installed to dry the road before laying asphalt
How is a non-performer company building the Bahraich Expressway?
NHAI admitted that earthwork, drainage, and quality were overlooked. Still, NHAI officials avoided taking action against the company. PNC has been awarded the work for the expressway from Barabanki to Bahraich. PNC has also been given the work of constructing a flyover inside Lucknow city.
PNC Company’s ‘Tarnished’ Record
- Bribery Scandal (2024): Accusations were made of bribing NHAI officials to conceal substandard construction in the Jhansi-Khajuraho project. The company was blacklisted after a CBI investigation. Later, it received relief from the High Court.
- Etah Accident (2020): 2 people died due to a concrete girder falling from an under-construction flyover on NH-91.
- 50-foot Deep Pit (2018): A new car fell into a 50-foot deep pit after the service lane of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway collapsed. Notably, the company had received a bonus of ?58 crore for completing the work quickly.
