Recarpeting: Same Amritsar stretch gets funds thrice in 5 years

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 25

Though a large number of roads are in a pathetic condition due to scarcity of government funds, a stretch of 11 kilometre road from Chheharta Chowk to Dhand has received funds thrice in last five years.

Aam Aadmi Party leader and RTI activist Suresh Sharma got information through RTI and alleged that politicians and officials were recarpeting the road again and again to get commission from contractors.

The road from Chheharta Chowk to Dhand was recarpeted by the PWD in 2016-17. The total cost of work was Rs5.54 crore and Rs32.47 lakh were reserved for the maintenance of the road for the next five years. The work was undertaken by a private firm of Gole Bagh Amritsar under Pradhan Mantri Grameen Yojana.

However, the maintenance guarantee of the road would end in 2022, but in 2020, the Municipal Corporation recarpeted a stretch of the same road from Chheharta Chowk to railway crossing costing Rs1.99 crore. Sharma claimed that if the stretch needed maintenance, then it should be conducted by the private firm which was paid for maintenance.

Sharma alleged that the MC didn’t take NoC from PWD to conduct the recarpeting of the stretch.

Sharma said it was surprising that PWD minister Vijay Inder Singla, Cabinet Minister Rajkumar Verka and MLA Tarn Taran Dr Dharamvir Agnihotri inaugurated the maintenance work of the 11 km road from Chheharta Chowk to Dhand village on November 15, 2021. The government would spend Rs1.50 crore on the same road.

“The maintenance agreement with the private firm, which recarpeted the road in 2017 would end in 2022. Why is the government spending crores for maintenance? There should be a Vigilance inquiry in this regard. The public money is being wasted to get commissions from contractors,” Sharma said.