The Bengal government’s hands-off land policy has begun to hit important infrastructure projects, with the fate of three major bridges on NH60 running into rough weather after chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent instruction to not evict anyone for the renovation of the Kansabati bridge in West Midnapore.

Government sources said Mamata’s instruction created confusion about the future of bridges over the Kansabati and Shilabati rivers in West Midnapore and the barrage bridge in Birbhum’s Tilpara. Uncertainty has gripped these projects even after compensation has been paid to most of the land-losers for the Kansabati and Shilabati bridges.

All these bridges are on NH60, which passes through five south Bengal districts and meets NH12 (formerly NH34) at Morgram in Murshidabad.

The Telegraph takes a close look at the fate of these bridges:

Kansabati and Shilabati bridges: The Bengal government proposed to replace the existing two-lane bridges over the Kansabati and Shilabati rivers in early 2023 as the structures seemed to be unfit to bear the increasing load of traffic on NH60.

The state proposed the construction of four-lane bridges over these rivers to ensure smooth traffic on NH60. The Union ministry of road transport and highways (Morth), helmed by Nitin Gadkari, approved the projects and allotted ₹304.82 crore in
November 2023.

Gadkari announced that the Centre had allocated the sum to construct a four-lane bridge, 1.48km long, over the Kansabati, and a four-lane bridge, 900 metres long, over the Shilabati under the annual plan of 2023-24.

Sources said that the Centre hurriedly approved the project as movement of heavy vehicles had to be restricted on the bridges with the structures unable to bear load, which affected traffic on the important national highway.

As soon as the Centre approved the projects, the state government initiated land acquisition in early 2024. Sources said the process began smoothly till some land-losers, those living along the Shilabati river, and a few shopkeepers demonstrated when Mamata’s convoy was passing through the area earlier this August. They demanded that they should not be relocated to construct a wider Kansabati bridge.

Mamata assured them that no eviction would take place. She directed the district magistrate and the police superintendent of West Midnapore to ensure it.

This left the officials involved in land acquisition in a spot, as most demonstrators had received compensation for the projects.

According to a report drawn up by the district authorities, ₹28.61 crore was allocated as compensation for land-losers to get possession of land parcels required to rebuild the bridge.

“A total of ₹21.74 crore had been distributed, which is 76 per cent of the total compensation, to the land-losers. Given the sum of compensation doled out, the authorities should have got enough land to construct 1,750 metres of the 2,380 metres of the combined length of the two bridges. But the chief minister’s instruction has halted the projects,” said a source.

Sources said that the chief minister’s decision could leave a long-lasting impact on infrastructure projects.

“The Centre has already paid the compensation. If the projects get stuck now, the project cost would escalate. If this happens, the Centre might think twice before approving projects for Bengal. This sends the wrong message at a time when the Centre was ready to invest more than Rs 40,000 crore for roads and bridges under various national highway projects in the state,” said a source.

Tilpara Barrage Bridge: The state government’s lackadaisical approach to acquire land for a new four-lane bridge over the Tilpara Barrage has already left a heavy impact on the existing two-lane road bridge. The structure has become so weak that the movement of all kinds of vehicles had to be stopped. This has impacted Birbhum’s sole industry — stone quarries — that this road leads to.

According to a latest inspection report by the engineers of the irrigation department and the PWD, water dividers of the barrage have broken down, and the foundation of the bridge has been weakened because of multiple reasons, including rampant sand mining. This necessitated proposing to build a new four-lane bridge two years ago, and the Centre had agreed to approve the project considering its importance.

The Centre had asked the state to submit a detailed project report two years ago.

“A detailed proposal was sent to Nabanna by the district authorities. However, Nabanna remained silent as land had to be acquired,” said an official.

Sources said civil engineering company Mackintosh Burn has started temporary repairs of the bridge and the barrage.

“It is a short-term measure as the government is trying to make the bridge functional ahead of the 2026 polls. But the government should realise that short-term measures would not help. It can lead to a major mishap if the bridge is reopened hurriedly. The authorities should take initiatives to construct a four-lane new bridge to resolve the issue,” said a bureaucrat.