By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 3 Jul: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated stringent action after a portion of the Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway caved in following heavy rainfall in Shamli district. The NHAI has suspended some senior officials associated with the project and also issued show-cause notices to the construction and consultancy agencies over the reported deficiencies in construction quality and drainage arrangements.
The action follows an incident in which a section of the newly constructed expressway developed a major depression after the season’s first heavy rains, triggering widespread concern over the quality of construction. Several vehicles reportedly sustained damage after passing over the affected stretch, with some suffering damage to their wheel rims. Videos of the damaged road, shared by affected commuters on social media, quickly went viral, drawing sharp public criticism and prompting immediate intervention by the NHAI.
As per the reports, the road had caved in near Khera Mastan village, also referred to in some official reports as the Karaunda Mahajan-Dungar stretch in Shamli district, on the Meerut-Karnal Highway section of the Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway. According to the NHAI, the affected location is around Km 55+480 of the project corridor.
It may however be added here that following the incident, the damaged portion has been repaired on a war footing and traffic has been restored. Repair work on the permanent drainage system, however, is still in progress, while a temporary drain has been created to prevent waterlogging until permanent restoration is completed.
Based on the findings of a preliminary inquiry, the NHAI has reportedly found shortcomings in construction quality, inadequate protection of the road embankment slopes and deficiencies in the drainage system.
Acting on these findings, the Authority today suspended Kuldeep Kumar Rajdan, who was serving as Team Leader for the Authority Engineering Consultancy, with immediate effect. The project manager of the construction contractor, Nagendra Pal Singh, has also been suspended from the project.
Project Director Narendra Kumar Singh today confirmed that show-cause notices have been issued to the construction agency, M/s Krishna Constellation Private Limited and the Authority Engineering Consultancy, M/s Chaitanya Projects Consultancy Private Limited. Both the agencies have been directed to submit their response within three days explaining the lapses that have led to the road failure.
The consultancy firm has also been instructed to propose within seven days a replacement for Kuldeep Kumar Rajdan with a Team Leader possessing equivalent or higher professional experience. In addition, the construction company has been directed to remove its project manager from the assignment.
The NHAI has made it clear that failure to furnish a satisfactory explanation within the stipulated three-day period will invite stringent action under the terms of the contract, including withholding of payments, imposition of financial penalties, blacklisting from future works and other contractual measures.
The Authority has also further directed the construction agency to immediately undertake repairs, at its own cost, at all locations across the project corridor where rain-induced erosion or damage has been noticed so as to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future.
The incident has brought the quality of work on the ambitious Delhi-Dehradun Expressway under some public scrutiny. Earlier, too, concerns had been raised over certain deficiencies on the Uttarakhand section of the expressway. The latest cave-in, occurring after the very first spell of monsoon rain, has fuelled criticism over the durability of the newly constructed infrastructure and intensified demands for strict accountability from the agencies responsible for executing and supervising the project.
Meanwhile, concerns have also emerged over the safety of the commuters after the first spell of monsoon rain also caused soil subsidence near the railway bridge adjoining Nanheda Ghazi village near Gagalhedi in district Saharanpur. The soil filled along the side of the expressway has sunk at several points, raising questions about the stability of the route. Wednesday’s rainfall led to severe erosion, creating deep pits near the bridge and hollowing out the soil beneath, which now threatens both the railway bridge and the expressway. If urgent repair and protective measures are not undertaken, the situation could worsen with continuous rainfall.
