Bad road conditions in GH
SHILLONG: Irked by the unsatisfactory quality of construction of roads in some sectors of Garo Hills, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma announced a slew of stringent measures to fix accountability and streamline road construction and other civil works in the area.
While making it clear that strict measures and penal action is being contemplated against contractors who fail to ensure quality and timely execution of civil works, Dr Sangma stressed on the need for training and capacity building of local labourers, both skilled and unskilled, and masons along with supervisors for better implementation and effective monitoring of civil works.
The Chief Minister undertook an urgent review of the status of roads in Tura and Ampati on Monday and was irked to see the poor quality of construction of a stretch of AMPT road between 103rd and 133rd km in the stretch from Tura to Garobadha in Garobadha IB.
He expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that the works for the AMPT road, allotted just a year ago, were in a state of disrepair barely months after completion.
The Chief Minister expressed his ire at the contractors for the unsatisfactory nature of work and directed the engineers from the PWD (Roads) to issue a show cause to the erring contractors on why strict action, which may involve initiation of legal proceedings, cancellation of contracts and black listing, should not be taken against them for compromising on the quality of work. Dr Sangma also directed the Additional Chief Engineer, Western Zone, Tura to initiate a meeting with contractors to apprise them of the new strategy and resolve of the department to improve the quality of work and take stringent action against contractors who do not meet the requisite standards.
The Chief Minister also vented his displeasure for the slow pace of works on the road leading to the Circuit House, Tura and directed that it be completed in two weeks time.
He also requested the Deputy Commissioners to play a more pro-active role in ensuring the monitoring of the road projects.