ITANAGAR, 27 Jul: The West Siang District Students’ Union (WSDSU) has requested the governor to “intervene and stop the rampant violation of guidelines in executing package-IX of the 37 Km long Nyigmoi to Pangin Trans-Arunachal Highway project.”
In a letter addressed to the governor, the WSDSU informed that the said highway project was allotted to M/s SRK Private Limited sometime in the last week of September 2020.
“However, work execution had not started despite repeated complaints and several meetings with the executing agency and district administration,” it claimed, adding that the project is being executed “in the most unprofessional manner, violating all laid standard operating procedures and technical specifications.”
As per claims of the union, “no project manager has been appointed; no laboratory for soil testing has been established; technical personnel like site engineers, surveyors haven’t been deployed to date and deployment of machinery like excavators, bulldozers, dumpers, etc are grossly underrepresented.”
It said that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, which is responsible for highway projects, has “turned a blind eye to all the violations of the norms and guidelines.”
While it acknowledged that “the work has started at a snail’s pace,” the union said that “unscientific earth-cutting and soil dumping has triggered landslides, thereby posing a great threat to lives of the commuters.”
The union informed that it had held a bandh call on 8 March last, which was followed by meetings of all the stakeholders, and chaired by the deputy commissioner of the district on 17 and 23 March to break the impasse.
Subsequently, the students’ union met and apprised Chief Minister Pema Khandu on 5 April, who also promised to find a solution. When the WSDSU submitted a reminder on 7 July, the CMO informed that it would write to the PWD Highway and MoRTH to seek the status report.
“If the concerned agency is found not fit for the work already delayed, their contract should be terminated or transferred to a more capable and reliable agency,” it said, adding that it would have to approach either the National Green Tribunal or file a public interest litigation, “which will be detrimental to the development of the state and West Siang in particular.”
