Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 19 Mar: Secretary, Public Works Department, Pankaj Pandey today conducted a comprehensive inspection of road restoration works across the city following road cutting. He was accompanied by District Magistrate Savin Bansal and other senior officials of the district administration during the inspection. The inspection began early this morning at around 6 a.m. and covered several key locations to assess the quality and timeliness of restoration works undertaken after ongoing construction activities.
During the inspection, a wide range of prominent areas including Dilaram Chowk, Hathi Badkala, Sai Mandir, Nagal Road, Canal Road, Dhoran, IT Park, Laxmi Road, Krishali Chowk, Sahastradhara Road, Curzon Road, Mohini Road, Dharampur Chowk, Chanchal Dairy, Fountain Chowk, Rispana Bridge, Doon University area, Sapera Basti, Bengali Kothi, NH Haridwar Bypass, ISBT, Shimla Bypass Chowk, Niranjanpur Sabzi Mandi, Kamla Palace, Balliwala Chowk, Ballupur Chowk, Kishannagar Chowk, Yamuna Colony and Bindal Bridge were inspected.
During the course of the inspection, Pankaj Pandey asserted that there are clear directions from the Chief Minister that no inconvenience should be caused to the public due to construction activities and that all the works must be completed within the stipulated timeframe. He emphasised that strict adherence to timelines and quality standards is essential to ensure smooth movement of traffic and public convenience.
At a majority of the locations, the road restoration work was found to be satisfactory. However, at certain places, incomplete or substandard restoration was observed, along with debris lying on the roads, which could potentially disrupt traffic movement. Taking serious note of these lapses, the Secretary directed the officials to ensure that all the conditions prescribed by the district administration while granting permission for road cutting are followed in letter and spirit. He further instructed that restoration of roads must be carried out promptly and with high quality immediately after completion of the work, and that debris must be cleared without delay.
He issued clear directions that strict action will be taken as per rules against agencies or executing bodies which fail to comply with the stipulated timelines and conditions during road cutting works. The Quick Response Team (QRT) of the district administration has been instructed to maintain continuous monitoring of such activities and to ensure that all works are executed with public interest as the top priority.
On this occasion, District Magistrate Savin Bansal stated that permissions for road cutting are granted in view of public interest and developmental requirements, with clearly defined budgets, timelines and standards, the compliance of which is the responsibility of the administration. For this purpose, a Road Cutting Committee has been constituted to regulate and monitor such works. Acting on the directions of the Chief Minister, a decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the in-charge minister (Subodh Uniyal) along with the officials of various executing agencies that permission for road cutting will be granted only at two or three locations at a time, and new permissions will be issued only after completion of works within a stipulated period of 15 to 21 days.
Bansal further stated that affidavits have been obtained from the agencies concerned that any violation of prescribed conditions will invite strict action against them. The administration aims to enforce accountability and ensure timely completion of works to minimise inconvenience to the public.
During the inspection, City Magistrate Pratyush Singh, SDMs Harigiri and Kumkum Joshi, Superintending Engineer Mukesh Parmar, Executive Engineer OP Singh and officials from various related departments and agencies were also present.
