If completion of roads is any parameter to measure the accomplishment of government schemes, then the rate of success in the Maoist-controlled districts of Chhattisgarh is abysmal. Only two of 30 road projects could be completed in last three years. This is evident from the monthly road construction review report of Chhattisgarh’s Public Works Department (PWD), the nodal agency in charge of road projects. The officers of PWD, on condition of anonymity, unanimously said that construction of roads in the seven districts of south Chhattisgarh, which covers an area almost as big as the Netherlands, is ‘an impossible task.’
According to the July report of PWD, a copy of which is with The Hindu , in the last three years only two of the 30 roads have been completed under union Home Ministry’s Left Wing Extremism (LWE) eradication programme. Situation has not changed over last one year. Fifteen of 30 projects, approved in 2010 or earlier, are stuck at various stages of receiving or awarding tenders. Execution of the remaining 13 projects have stopped as in most cases the contractor has simply disappeared in the middle of the work, presumably being threatened by the Maoists, and in some cases PWD’s report has tried hard to sound optimistic as it says ‘work is possible’. PWD had to redo some of the tenders as only one bid had been put forth. “Besides, Companies bid online for projects in Bastar seeing the Google map and then runaway once they are challenged by the Maoists,” said a PWD officer working on LWE projects.
One such company that never appeared to complete three main roads – 65 km Chintalnar-Marigudam project in Sukma, 48 km Bijapur-Tarlaguda and 52 km Nalesnar-Gangloor in Bijapur – was Mumbai based Neeraj Cement. In two of three projects of the Neeraj Cement, PWD blamed Naxals for stoppage of work as the machineries are burnt. In one project the PWS report says, ‘deafulter (is) party (Neeraj Cement).’ Show cause notices are routinely issued to the contractor by PWD. Neeraj Cement’s marketing manager Firoze Alam was not available for comments.
The sources in the Union Home Ministry says that in most cases the contractors disappear after taking an advance and later, being taken the court, they return the money but ‘only after a few years’. “The contractors themselves burn their machineries in some cases or fund renegade Maoist groups to do that, after taking an advance. If an interest-free work advance of Rs.20 crore is returned after three years, without even a scratch on the road, imagine how much [money] the contractor is making by investing it in the market in the name of Maoists.” One such project, according to Ministry sources is 70 km Awapalli-Jagargunda road which has ‘not started’ according to July report even after the Pune based construction company – Patil Construction and Infrastructure – has taken a hefty advance. While refusing to discuss the advance the company has received, a company official acknowledged that working in the stretch is a ‘seriously difficult’ job. “One of our employees been killed there in March and cars burnt down. We suffered financially. No contractors sabotage his own project,” said general manager (HR) Col. Vivek Bhatnagar. The work has ‘just started’ in that stretch, he said. The question, however, is why central paramilitaries are not engaged substantially to complete the road projects. “We have managed to complete one patch between Palnar and Sameli in Dantewada, which is a very difficult area, using CRPF, why the same can not be done else where?” says a Ministry official. The PWD officials deny of having any ‘nexus’ between the contractors, a section of the Maoists and the civilian administration that slows down LWE projects for ‘personal financial benefits.’
Several other reasons are cited in the PWD’s July report on road construction projects in LWE areas. Most of the observations say, ‘work is stopped due to naxal activities’. It has mentioned other reasons like – receiving application of single bidder or of rates above the budget. In case of several projects the report simply said, ‘work not possible’ without narrating any reasons.
In last six months, top officials of the State, police, and paramilitary forces met at least thrice in Kanker and Raipur to discuss the fate of the roads in south Chhattisgarh. In the last meeting last week, Chief Minister Raman Singh told PWD managers that the construction ‘has to be completed’ especially as it is the best time of the year after monsoon to wrap up the ongoing projects. However, Mr. Singh has ‘not not been pushy given the vulnerable security situation of the area,’ said Principal Secretary to Chief Minister N. Baijendra Kumar.But LWE’s road projects ogo on round-the-clock as the money, almost 2000 crore is size, is budgeted. And being budgeted, the money arrives every year during monsoon, partly gets spent as ‘advance’ and the rest goes back to Delhi to come back again in the following year being enhanced to get spent again as an advance. Few more meetings are convened hurriedly in central Raipur’s Circuit House, few more reports are submitted and the cumulative length of the road remains more-or-less the same. “The roads in Chhattsigarh have also become elusive like the Maoists, they disappear even before you see them,” said an officer attached to the LWE projects.
