DC Rajouri resolves bottlenecks hampering work on important BGSBU Road

• Construction/widening work started in 2019, road still in nastiest condition
• Blacktopping to start within two days: DC

Shyam Sood

Rajouri, April 24: Since 2019, when the construction works for broadening the road from the existing 6 meters to 10 meters, an important BGSB University Road is still in the nastiest & awful condition because the Administrative Council (AC) accorded approval for the widening/construction of this road with an estimated cost of Rs 31.52 Crore only in the month of December 2022.
On Monday, after several complaints from the inhabitants of the area about the sluggish progress of the road work, Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Kundal visited BGSBU road to review the status of progress.
Accompanied by BDC, Darbar Choudhary; MC President, Mohd Arif Jatt; SE PWD, Kamal Kishore Gupta. ACR, Imran Kataria; EXN PWD, Maqbool Hussain, DPO, Aquil Nuvid, Sarpanch concerned, and contractor, Vikas Kundal noted that there were bottlenecks hampering the smooth execution of work on the project.
The DC, Vikas Kundal directed the stakeholders to work closely with the concerned officers to remove the bottlenecks and ensure the project’s timely completion.
He emphasised that the project’s completion is crucial to provide necessary benefits in terms of connectivity to the public.
The Deputy Commissioner also made it clear that “Any further delay in the completion of the vital project should involve the black listing of the contractor,” said the DC.
The DC directed the officers concerned to utilise all necessary resources and manpower efficiently to ensure that the project is completed as soon as possible, as BGBSU Road is a vital link connecting Rajouri with its adjoining villages and the University.
Vikas Kundal has appealed to the public to cooperate with the authorities in ensuring the timely completion of the project, which will enhance connectivity and benefit the people of the region.
Initially, in 2004-5 road was constructed for a width of 6 meters having a carriageway of 3 meters feeding various link roads of PWD/PMGSy/BRO, and has also importance related to Defence, Telecom & Information.
But after the establishment of BGSBU (in 2005-6) several deputations of prominent citizens met the then Principal Secretary Finance (PSF) for up-gradation on the nomenclature of Rajouri to BGSBU.

Accordingly, a DPR was prepared on the direction of PSF for an amount of Rs 3152 lacs & submitted to higher authorities for the Accord of Administrative Approval (AAA).

On January 30, 2019, the then PSF visited Rajouri, and the BGSBU road project was sanctioned under Languishing vide LUP No-1943 in the 6th High Power Committee Meeting on 25/2/2019.

On the verbal directions of Principal Secretary Finance (PSF), PWD (R&B) Rajouri initiated construction/widening work on this ICON BGSBU road project with a DPR cost of Rs.31.52 Cr without Accord of Administrative Approval (AAA).

The contractor started construction/widening work at a snail’s pace & even after spending more than Rs 12 crore, no payment was released till December 2022 as the project was sanctioned under Languishing for the 2019-20 road project funded by JKIDFC but no payment was released by JKIDFC without AAA.

The Government order No: 469-PW(R&B) of 2022 dated 23/12/2022 read: “Post facto Administrative approval is hereby accorded to the ‘Construction of road from Rajouri to Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah (BGSB) University ‘length 8 Kms (7 Kms flrxible+1 Km rigid pavement) at an estimated cost of Rs 31.52 Crore under Languishing Projects Program (LUP 1943) funded through JKIDFC”.

The existing road will be broadened from 6 meters to 10 meters wide having a carriageway of 7 meters and a corridor of 14 meters.