Siliguri, May 7: Once part of a proposed four-lane expressway, stretches of NH31 and NH31C have now been reduced to a pot-holed misery.

A who-is-responsible-for-the-highway debate seems to be the reason behind the gaping holes that mark the 206km stretch from Ghoshpukur to Salsalabari in Jalpaiguri district.

The highway, NH31, connects Bengal to the Northeast.

While the Bengal public works department (PWD) alleged that despite being the “contract manager” for NH31 its requests for funds have gone unheeded, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) denied having turned down appeals for money.

The NHAI, in its turn, has said had it wanted, the PWD could have got the road — after Chalsa NH31 becomes 31C — repaired on its own and the funds reimbursed from the highways authority.

For commuters, it does not matter who is in charge. “We are not interested in which government agency is supposed to do the work. Last year’s damage is yet to be repaired. I shudder to think what the road will look like after this year’s monsoons. We don’t want an expressway, but a motorable road,” said Ganesh Kundu, a resident of Binnaguri who commutes daily to and from Siliguri, a distance of 120km.

The NHAI had taken possession of the Ghoshpukur-Salsalabari (which includes NH31 and 31C) stretch in 2002 to widen it for the East West Corridor. The corridor is a proposed four-lane expressway connecting Porbander in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam. However, after a strong opposition from the green lobby (since it entailed a large-scale destruction of forests) last year, the alignment of the corridor was changed and a decision taken to align it along the state highway in Jalpaiguri district.

As a result, the Ghoshpukur-Salsalabari stretch was no longer a part of the expressway. Instead of remaining with the NHAI, it was supposed to go back to the ministry of road transport and highways. However, the formal handover is yet to happen.

“Since it is now a temporary liability, they (the NHAI) are not interested in maintaining it,” a PWD source said.

Md Alum, superintending engineer of PWD (national highway), said all pleas for funds to the NHAI in recent times have gone unheeded. “In the past one year, we sent a number of estimates for repairs on this road stretch to the NHAI but there was no response. About a month back, we submitted a revised estimate of Rs 24 crore because of the rising cost of building material, but are yet to hear from them. We are only contract managers and work with funds given to us by the NHAI.”

The stretches that need immediate repair are Ghoshpukur-Bagdogra, Malbazar-Chalsa, Chalsa-Nagrakata and Telipara-Birpara.

R.P. Singh, the project director of NHAI, said the proposals have been forwarded to higher authorities. “We are hopeful that it will be sanctioned in the next 10-15 days,” he said.

The PWD is doubtful if it will be possible to get the roads repaired before monsoon even if the funds are sanctioned soon.

“We need at least one month to complete the tender process before actually beginning the repair and the monsoon arrives here in mid-June,” Alum said.

Singh said the PWD could initiate the work with its own funds and get it reimbursed. “That is impossible because NHAI owns the road,” Alum said.