Sri Vijaya Puram, Mar 12: Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Member of Parliament, met Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, today and apprised him about the deplorable condition of several stretches of the National Highway in North & Middle Andaman District of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
During the meeting, the MP expressed serious concern over the deteriorating condition of the National Highway stretch from Baratang to Diglipur, which has developed large potholes at several places due to poor base and plinth work. He informed that the condition of the road has become unsafe for vehicular movement and is causing serious inconvenience to the general public.
Mr. Ray also brought to the notice of the Minister that the progress of the Middle–Baratang bridge works appears to be very slow and, if the present pace continues, the project may not be completed within the stipulated timeline fixed by the Ministry and the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
Further, he highlighted certain administrative gaps affecting effective supervision of National Highway works in the district. Earlier, separate General Managers were posted for PMU Baratang and PMU Mayabunder to monitor the works. However, at present, the General Manager stationed at Sri Vijaya Puram is holding additional charge of all the PMU units in North & Middle Andaman District, which has constrained effective field-level monitoring. In addition, the Project Manager of NHIDCL at PMU Mayabunder has not been granted extension, resulting in the absence of a dedicated officer to oversee the ongoing projects in the district.
The MP requested the Minister to kindly intervene in the matter to expedite the ongoing works, including the Baratang bridge project, and to ensure that the National Highway works from Baratang to Diglipur are completed within the timelines fixed by the Ministry.
He also urged that necessary steps be taken for strengthening monitoring arrangements and that an expert team from the Ministry/NHIDCL may be deputed to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to assess the present condition of the highway stretches and take appropriate action to ensure quality and timely completion of the works.
In addition to the issues relating to the National Highway, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray also requested Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, for early consideration of the Batch-II proposal under the Central Road Fund (CRF) amounting to Rs. 123.92 crore, which was submitted by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and is presently pending with the Ministry for approval.
Mr. Gadkari assured that the matters would be looked into for appropriate action. MP Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, also submitted a detailed letter in this regard.
