2 NHAI Officials Suspended for ‘Irregularities’ In Odisha
Two National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials based in Odisha have been suspended for alleged irregularities in the Cuttack-Sambalpur NH 55 expansion project, which is behind schedule.
user1
Bhubaneswar: Two National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials based in Odisha have been suspended for alleged irregularities in the Cuttack-Sambalpur NH 55 expansion project, which is behind schedule.
According to sources, NHAI suspended Project Director (Technical) A S Rao and a finance officer for allegedly showing undue favor to a Hyderabad-based infrastructure company.
The company was awarded a contract for the four-laning of the Cuttack-Sambalpur section of NH-55 (old NH-42) at a cost of Rs 2,367 crore, which increased to Rs 4,482 crore as the expansion work continued for the past seven years.
According to reports, Rao was transferred to the Keonjhar section a few days ago before being placed on suspension. An internal audit was reportedly launched against the two officers.
While senior NHAI officials have remained silent, sources have told TNIE that more heads are likely to roll. Sunil Kumar, a DGM at the NHAI regional office, has been assigned the additional responsibility of Keonjhar project director.
Around 40% of the 263-kilometer NH 55 four-laning project, which was supposed to be completed by 2020, is still unfinished. The expansion project, which was divided into three packages, began in 2017 and 2018.
The company backed out of the project after allegedly going bankrupt as a result of the severe financial crisis. Despite the fact that it has appointed three subcontractors who have been approved by the NHAI to carry out the pending NH-55 works, excess payments have been made to the contractor, according to the sources.
