Mahasadak Progress only 60%: Rajdeep Roy meets Nitin Gadkari, submits "Manpower at the site is far less than desirable"

Today, Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy met Hon’ble Union Minister for Road Transport & Highway, Nitin Gadkari. During their meeting, Dr. Roy expressed his concerns regarding the Balacherra-Harangajao section of the 4 Lane Mahasadak that connects Silchar to Guwahati.

Dr. Roy reported that during his visit to the site on February 25, 2023, he found the “physical progress” of the project to be “approximately 60%”, with the “manpower at the site far less than desirable, considering the target of completion of the work in April, 2023”. He also noted that the progress was not as per expectation.

“Greetings to you. As previously discussed on a number of occasions regarding the Balacherra – Harangajao section of 4 Lane Expressway connecting Silchar to Guwahati I am to lay before you the findings from my visit on the said section on 25.02.2023. The physical progress is approximately 60%. Manpower at the site is far less than desirable considering the target of completion of the work in April 2023,” states the letter that MP submitted to the Union Minister.

“The progress is not as per expectation. I personally surveyed the difficult spots of the entire 25 km alignment. Have also held meetings with the NHIDCL authorities at their site. Based on my experience I would like to reiterate that it would be best to send a expert team from New Delhi to inspect the progress made so far, take note of the present difficulties and then suggest ways and means for early completion of this
infrastructural project,” MP Roy added.

The Balacherra Harangajao section of the East-West Corridor is an important infrastructural project that will improve connectivity between Silchar and Guwahati, and in a larger scale between Silchar and Saurashtra bringing economic development in the region. The concerns raised by Dr Roy regarding the progress of the project are significant and require immediate attention.

The 3,300 kilometres long East-West corridor is part of Golden Quadrilateral, a dream project of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee which was announced by him on October 10, 1998. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the then Minister for Surface Transport B.C. Khanduri and Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in 2004.