Ahmedabad's Sanand railway bridge gets entangled in red tape

AHMEDABAD: The railway bridge at the Nidharad crossing in Sanand, 29km from the Ahmedabad city, is an apt example of negligence and criminal wastage of taxpayers' money. A bridge which was to be completed in two years, by 2020, is standing only in bits, waiting for bureaucrats and contractors to sort their paperwork six years after planning began. The state roads and buildings department had proposed the bridge. Today, just a small portion of the bridge stands in the jurisdiction of the state highways department, while another portion, built over the Western Railway line by the railways, stands completed.
Sources in R&B department said that the tenders for the railway overbridge were cleared and awarded to Amar Constructions in 2018, but there were several hurdles in the land acquisition work for a 5.5-metre wide service road. "There were legal land disputes that led to the delay. While preparing the detailed project report, these disputes were overlooked," said a senior R&B official. Only 50% of the bridgework has been completed. Villagers have made representations before the local MLA and even met officials in Gandhinagar.

State roads and buildings department's chief engineer (roads), P R Pateliya said, "The issue of Nidharad railway overbridge has been brought to our notice. There is an industrial area there. There were issues related to land acquisition for a service road which has been resolved now. The work on the bridge will begin shortly." The railway overbridge of more than 400 metres in length and 24 metres in width near Nidharad Railway Crossing on the Sanand-Kadi Road was to be built at a cost of Rs 18.70 crore.
"A large part of the bridge work was delayed during the Covid lockdowns. We have been issuing repeated show- cause notices to the contractor to complete the bridgework, but there are several conflicts," admitted a senior R&B official on the condition of anonymity.
Pankajsinh Vaghela, a local from Nidharad village, said, "Every day, we get stuck in long traffic jams. We have made repeated representations in this regard. For the last one-and-a-half years, we see that work begins for a brief period and then stops. Now, there are rumours that the design of the bridge will be changed."