A project to build over 1,300 km of roads along the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar, UP and Uttarakhand has been found to be poorly designed, marred by cost overruns and inordinate delays due to land acquisition and forest clearance issues. The observations were made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in a report that was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ The government in November 2010 took up the construction of 1,377 km of roads along the Indo-Nepal Border in Bihar (564 km), Uttar Pradesh (640 km) and Uttarakhand (173 km) at a cost of ?3,853 crore. The MHA released Rs 1,709.17 crore to the states concerned as of March 31, 2021. The deadline of the project was March 2016, which was extended to December 2022. Pointing out changes in the the alignment of a road in Bihar’s West Champaran, the report said, “did not serve the purpose of border road, as it was beyond the patrolling jurisdiction of the SSB”. According to the report, as of March 31, 2021, as many as 363 Border Outposts (81%) were away from the alignment of the proposed road. Of the 363 BOPs, 125 were up to 20 km away, and 16 were more than 20 km away. “No provision was made to provide the connectivity to the BOPs,” the CAG said. The report has said 15 bridges were constructed in Bettiah (Bihar) line with the initial proposal, but later the alignment was changed, leaving the dridges usless. In Uttarakhand, the report said, “MHA did not ensure that preparatory works such as land acquisition and forest/wildlife clearances were in place before approval of the detailed project reports,” the CAG said. On financial management, the report said, “Funds were not properly managed (2013 to 2016) as the MHA kept releasing money to the states even as the previous year's funds were still lying unutilised.” According to the report, “The advances and interest aggregating Rs 136.60 crore for mobilisation advance and equipment advance are yet to be recovered from the contractors in UP and Bihar. Due to the slow construction, the project cost was increased by Rs 831.30 crore.” The report has found the work progress in all three states slow. “Out of targeted 1,262.36 km, only 367.48 km (29 per cent) was complete (surfacing work) as on March 2021. The work was awarded without ensuring land free from encumbrance which caused arbitration and termination of contracts at various stages,” the report pointed out.
