PWD’s ‘denial’ of NoC to NHPC delays Largi-Bihali road repair

Our Correspondent

Kullu, March 27

The dilemma between the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the Public Works Department (PWD) is delaying the repair of the Largi-Bihali road, which was damaged due to floods in Sainj Valley in July last year.

The Parbati Hydro Electric Project (PHEP), Stage-III of the NHPC, has agreed to do the repair work of the damaged road, but the PWD is not giving the no objection certificate (NOC) to the NHPC to do the construction work. The NHPC has approved Rs 3 crore for the repair work after persuasion from the state government, but the PWD wants to carry out the work itself and is asking the NHPC to deposit Rs 18 crore for the job.

PHEP general manager Prakash Chand said the NHPC was ready to repair the road and had approved a budget of Rs 3 crore, but the PWD was not giving them NOC to carry out the construction work due to which the restoration work was lingering. He said, “After the order of PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, we had immediately sent a letter to the PWD for issuing the NOC, but till now the department has not paid any attention to it, due to which there is a delay.” He added that the NHPC was not able to start the construction due to the non-issuance of the NOC by the PWD.

Jitender Gupta, Superintending Engineer (SE), PWD, Kullu, said the road belonged to the PWD and the NOC could not be given to the NHPC to carry out the repair work. He said the PWD had demanded from the NHPC to deposit Rs 18 crore for the restoration job after preparing an estimate by conducting the surveys of critical points. He said, “We will carry out the work as per our specifications from the ‘scarring’ depth.” He alleged that the NHPC wanted to carry out temporary repair work for crossing their machinery, but the PWD would work in a technical way.

The NHPC had approached the PWD authorities demanding NOC to improve the condition of the road, but the PWD wanted to take over the responsibility of the construction work by getting funds from the NHPC. The people of the valley are risking their lives to cross the road, where even a small mistake can lead to a major accident. The delay in the restoration work of the road due to the quandary between NHPC and PWD is increasing the troubles of the commuters.

#Kullu