The delay in the completion of the Pragati Maidan tunnel and negligence in its maintenance led to large cracks in the structure that now requires a complete overhaul, said a senior official at the Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) on Tuesday, February 6,2024.
The tunnel at present is not safe for commuters. The condition is such that it cannot be repaired without a major revamp,” the official said.
The ambitious project was completed at a cost of ₹777 crore and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2022.
The 1.3-km-long tunnel and five five underpasses linking it are part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aimed to ease connectivity between central Delhi with eastern parts of the city and satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.
It had witnessed multiple closures due to waterlogging during the floods last year.
Another department official said the tunnel was flooded whenever the city received moderate to high rainfall.
“While all underground tunnels develop minor leakages, this particular tunnel was not repaired by the maintaining authority [L&T] despite multiple communications to the company in the past two months,” he added.
On February 3, the PWD issued a show-cause notice to Larsen and Toubro — the project contractor — asking it to deposit a “minimum token amount of ₹500 crore” and initiate repair work besides rectifying its defective design.
In the notice, the PWD said the company failed to complete the construction of the tunnel on time. The department said the project tender was floated in 2017 and it was expected to be complete by 2019. However, it was inaugurated in 2022.
“These concessions in the timeline were provided to the company subject to the understanding that the quality of the construction work would not be compromised,” it said.
The department said the maximum damage to the tunnel was caused due to defects in the design of Underpass No.5 near Bhairon Marg.
The department has asked the company to respond by February 18 as to why action should not be taken against it for financial and reputational losses.
The PWD also pointed out in their notice that the company is liable under civil as well as criminal laws for evading responsibility of repairing and maintaining a construction that was agreed upon to by the organisation to have a design life of 100 years or more.
The department has identified close to 12 issues, including continuous leakage, cracks in concrete, excessive waterlogging, and malfunctioning in drainage systems.
When The Hindu reached out to L&T, its spokesperson said the department is its “esteemed client” and they the long years of association with them.
“However, L&T would like to state that a counter claim of ₹500 crore has been filed by the company against the PWD,” added the spokesperson.
