Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 6 May: District Magistrate (DM) Savin Bansal chaired a meeting of the District Level Project Coordination Committee here today, where he undertook a detailed review of 13 proposals from PTCUL and UPCL for undergrounding power lines in Dehradun. During the meeting, he stressed on completing ongoing works in line with prescribed standards at the earliest, while granting conditional approval for new projects.
The DM issued clear directives that works already underway on roads, based on prior permissions, must be prioritised with adequate resources and double shifts operating round the clock to ensure swift completion. He emphasised that approvals for new proposals would only follow the completion of the existing ones. He also made it clear that for sites where works stand completed, a third-party inspection followed by a joint survey with the Public Works Department (PWD) must confirm road restoration through blacktopping without delay.
Under UPCL’s Lot-1, five works have been proposed, of which three are in progress. These include laying underground power cables along Raipur Karjan Road from Sushil Tower to MDDA Colony, Canal Road from Lotus Chauraha to Saket Colony, and from Modern Colony via Dharmpur Chauraha-Aragarh Substation to Lakshmi Chauraha. Two new proposals cover the stretch from Modern Colony to Parade Ground and from Parade Ground Sub Station to Raipur Road Canal Bridge.
Similarly, under Lot-2, five works are proposed, with two ongoing along Kanwali Road from Urja Bhawan to Saharanpur Chauraha and Saharanpur Road from Railway Station to Bhandari Bagh. The three new proposals are from Engineer Enclave to Niranjnapur Mandi, Ballupur Chauraha to Sunrgi Hospital, and Yamuna Colony to ONGC Chauraha.
For Lot-3 proposals, conditional approval was granted for underground cabling along Badripur Road from Jogiwala Chauraha to Tulip Farm, while discussions on PTCUL proposals could not proceed due to the absence of technical reports.
The DM warned that the administration will not tolerate any compromise on standards, with road cutting beyond permissions, leaving excavations incomplete, or neglecting safety norms leading to seizures and FIRs. He directed that pits dug at night must be filled by morning, and the barricading along with signboards at excavation sites would be mandatory. All the agencies received orders would have to deploy sufficient manpower and machinery for time-bound completion.
Bansal also made it clear that any delay or disorder in construction causing public inconvenience will invite legal action against the concerned departments. Officials were instructed to avoid laxity in safety, barricading, and site supervision.
Among those present at the meeting were SDM Kumkum Joshi, PWD Superintending Engineer Umpal Singh, PTCUL Superintending Engineer Vikram Gautam, UPCL Lot-1 Superintending Engineer Rahul Jain, UPCL Lot-2 Superintending Engineer Shikha Agarwal, EDC Superintending Engineer VK Singh, Executive Engineer Kailash, Arun Kant and other committee members and senior officers.
