Hole in flyover: Project manager of pvt firm held

GURGAON: The project manager of a private firm responsible for supervising the construction of the Hero Honda Chowk flyover was arrested on Tuesday after it developed a gaping hole in 2019.
Madhusudan Rao, a manager at the Indian Technocrat Limited (ITL), was granted bail after he promised to cooperate with the investigating agencies. He is the fourth person to be arrested in the case. All four are out on bail.
ITL, police said, was appointed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to oversee the construction of the flyover carried out by Valecha Engineering Limited.
“We have arrested the fourth accused in the case. He was granted bail after he agreed to join the investigation. The three others have also pledged their support,” police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.
The construction of the 1.4km flyover was sanctioned by the government in 2014. Built at a cost of Rs 197 crore, the flyover was inaugurated in 2017 to decongest the Delhi-Jaipur highway. Within a year — in April 2018 — a concrete chunk fell off the flyover. On May 8, 2019, again, a 4ft wide crater was developed on the flyover.
A case was registered on May 25 that year under sections 336 (endangering life) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC after a complaint was filed by RTI activist Ramesh Kumar. NHAI and officials of the other agencies involved in the construction work were named in the FIR.
Soon after the collapse, the NHAI constituted a three-member committee to look into the reasons for it. The committee found that the concrete had started solidifying even before it was laid down, causing the chunks to come off easily. The panel recommended that a 15m area of the flyover be cast again. The road was closed for months so that the section could be rebuilt.
Police said they would issue notices to other agencies and officials found negligent.