Work on Kharar flyover may come to a grinding halt as representatives of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the company constructing it, are reportedly toying with the idea of pulling out of the project if they are not given possession of the land they need by March. In a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on January 19, asking him to expedite the acquisition process so that the project can be completed on time, Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu, wrote, “L&T who were assigned the 10.5-km-long project by the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), have threatened to pull out from March 31, 2019, because of unending delays in land acquisition for the project.” He demanded the appointment of a sub-divisional magistrate level officer to oversee the construction.
Punjab government has been dragging its feet on land acquisition for the 10.5-km-long flyover. A few months ago, it was reported that it had acquired only 50 per cent of the land required for the project. One reason is that most of it is built-up land with shops and houses.
Mohali Deputy Commissioner (DC) Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, when contacted, said she has not received any letter from the company threatening to pull out. “I had held a meeting with Public Works Department (PWD) secretary a fortnight ago and all the issues were discussed at length. Most of the problems were resolved. There will be no further delay in the project and we will complete the land acquisition soon,” she added.
The vital link
The work on the flyover at an estimated cost of around Rs 370 crore was started in November 2015 and was expected to be completed by December last year. But, the company has not been able to meet its construction deadline due to the delay in acquisition of land, mostly occupied by shops and other structures, which could push the project back by over one year.
The flyover is a vital link to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh from Chandigarh. Delay in its construction is affecting the movement of thousands of people every day and long traffic jams have become a norm on Chandigarh-Kharar road. “During rains, it becomes almost impossible to cross the road. There are no slip roads, which can be used till the time the flyover is completed,” groused SAD leader Ranjeet Singh Gill.
Compensation not disbursed: Sandhu
Sandhu said during a meeting with him last week, representatives of L&T and NHAI told him that they had released a sum of Rs 213 crore as compensation for land acquisition, but the district administration has disbursed only 60 per cent of this sum to the affected people. “The company representative also told me that they released Rs 14.28 crore for the acquisition of 244 structures located along the road, but even these were yet to be acquired. The slow pace of work is affecting thousands of people who take this road every day,” MLA Sandhu said, adding there are 252 structures, for which the compensation is yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, owners of 320 structures, which were acquired for the project, are yet to be compensated. NHAI Project Director K L Sehgal said that there is no delay on their part. “We have given the compensation amount to the Punjab government.”
