Peeved over the delay in completing 10.3 km bit of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between Shamirpet and Keesara, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has recently issued termination orders on the contractor.
The prestigious project to ring the city with 158 km-long six lane fast expressway has been completed for 121 km. and opened to traffic between Pedda Amberpet to Shamirpet through Patancheru, but the final arc of 37 km between Shamirpet and Pedda Amberpet has been hit by delays. This final stretch that would complete the nearly Rs.6,696 crore project has been given several deadlines but to no avail.
According to the officials, the problem has been with contract related to the work between Shamirpet and Keesara and despite several reminders and notices, the contractor was not making any progress on the work. A show cause to terminate the contract was served last November, but following a representation to the government, the HMDA was asked to give time till March end.
No progress“Even by March-end, the contractor did not show any progress and we were left with no option but terminate the contract,” said HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad. The termination was served in the first week of April and the government approached for a revised administration sanction to hand over the balance work of around 6 km here to another contractor.
He said arrangements were already made by the HMDA to call for fresh tenders for this bit of work and once the sanction was received from the government, the due process would be followed. Mr. Prasad said the work on the rest of the final arc was going ahead and hoped to be able to open the Ghatkesar-Pedda Amberpet stretch in June and the stretch between Ghatkesar and Keesara in August.
