The first Tender SURE (Specifications for Urban Roads Execution) road of North Karnataka being developed in Hubballi is likely to slow down due to the delay in payment to the contractor and shifting of utilities, according to the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.
Under the Tender SURE road project, a road stretch measuring 2.19 km between Kadasiddheswar Arts and HS Kotambri Science Institute at Vidyanagar and Tolana Kere, is being developed.
On Tuesday, Mr. Shettar inspected the road work along with chairperson of Jana Urban Space Foundation Swathi Ramanathan. As per an earlier plan, the road was to be ready for public use by December. Speaking to presspersons after inspection, Mr. Shettar said that since there was delay in shifting utilities and release of payments to the contractor, the completion of the road work might take two more months.
Although works worth ₹ 10 crore had been completed, the government had not cleared the bills yet. The total cost of the project is ₹ 34 crore and HD-BRTS (Hubballi-Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit System) Company has paid its share of ₹ 5 crore, he said.
Expressing displeasure over delays caused because of the apathy by the State government, Mr. Shettar said that bills pertaining to several works of Hubballi-Dharwad had been kept pending by the government.
Regarding the encroachments on the road stretch, Mr. Shettar said that all encroachments had been cleared and works pertaining to Hubballi Electricity Supply Company had been completed.
MLA Arvind Bellad, HDMC councillor Mahesh Burli and various officials were present.