Siliguri, July 25: The Bengal public works department has said the construction of the Asian Highway II's 38km stretch that passes through north Bengal might come to a halt as the Centre is yet to approve a request for Rs 80 crore more for additional infrastructure.
Nirmal Mondal, the project director of AH2 stationed in Siliguri, said the cost of building the stretch that cuts through Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts had been initially estimated to be Rs 427.29 crore.
"But as we started the project, we had to change the plan and design at a number of locations along the 38km stretch. We need to build new underpasses and bus bays and widen the highway to four lanes at places where the earlier plan was for only two lanes, and wide service roads. We approached the Union government for an additional sum of Rs 80 crore," said Mondal.
The Asian Highway II is 13,177km long and will connect Indonesia with China. It enters India at Fulbari (on the India-Bangladesh boundary) and ends at Panitanki (on the India-Nepal border).
The state PWD had sent the details of the additional infrastructure along with estimated cost to the Union ministry of road transport and highways a month ago. "We had even spoken to senior officials of the ministry through video conferencing. But till date, the Centre has approved additional works of only Rs 20 crore. Unless Rs 80 crore is approved, we cannot assign the new tasks to contractors. If there is further delay in the approval, we apprehend that work will come to a halt at many locations," said Mondal.
In India, the Asian Highway project is being implemented by the Asian Development Bank and the central government. In Bengal, the project has been assigned to the state PWD.
Mondal has elaborated on the additional infrastructure that has been planned for the international highway in north Bengal.
"Initially, a two-lane road was planned at the border points (Panitanki and Fulbari). Later, we were informed that according to the concept of the project, the road should have four lanes. Further, we have to build a pedestrian underpass at Shivmandir, a vehicular underpass at Kadamtala (both are near Siliguri)) and most importantly, a ramp or an additional arm of the under-construction flyover linking the Bagdogra airport. All these works have been planned for smooth traffic and to meet safety standards. We had initially planned bus bays at 12 locations but now, the number has increased to 21," he said.
Sources said the total estimated project cost was around Rs 708 crore, of which around Rs 280.71 crore had been spent to pay compensation to land losers. "Unlike other road projects in Bengal, we have not faced problems in acquiring land for the international highway. The entire land we needed for the project was acquired. As there has been a change in the design at Panitanki, we need to acquire 0.16 hectare there. We hope it would not be a major problem," a source said.
On July 19, the principal secretary of state PWD had held a high-level meeting at Nabanna to know the progress of highway constructions in Bengal. "At the meeting, discussions were held on the status of highway widening. We were present there and apprised the principal secretary and other senior officials of the issue. We hope they will communicate with officials in Delhi to see that the plea for Rs 80 crore is approved at the earliest," said the source.
