Delhi-Doon expressway: NHAI cracks down on project officials

NEW DELHI: NHAI has issued show-cause notices to its project director, a contractor and authority engineer after a video of a section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway caving in went viral. It said the incident was caused due to “water accumulation”, as the permanent cross-drainage system at the site could not be constructed due to sustained resistance from locals.Officials said the project director has been instructed to fix responsibility for the incident and the authority engineer (AE) has been asked to explain negligence in services. “The team leader of AE (consulting firm) has been suspended. The highway contractor has been asked to explain why it should not be declared as non-performer and debarred from NHAI’s future projects. The contractor’s project manager has been suspended as well,” said an official.On X, NHAI regretted the inconvenience caused to commuters due to the incident following rainfall. “The section has been restored and opened for regular traffic movement,” the authority said.A senior NHAI functionary told TOI that the cave in was spotted by their patrol team near Kheda Mastan village in UP’s Baghpat district around 6.30 am Wednesday. “The route patrolling team observed that the caving in of the road surface happened due to continuous overnight heavy rains,” he said.He added that locals were not allowing the execution of slope protection works because of an ongoing arbitration dispute.TOI has learnt that though locals did not oppose construction of the main expressway and ramps, they didn’t allow protection works in the median portion at two locations. The matter was raised with UP govt, and its officials visited the site four times, but the issue is yet to be resolved.The authority said the incident occurred as the permanent cross-drainage system at the location could not be commissioned due to sustained resistance from local residents, who did not permit integration of the balancing culvert and instead used the culvert opening as a vehicular crossing.Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.