Nagpur: The NHAI’s tall claims of building highways at the speed of 25km per day takes a big hit when one looks at the road expansion of the 485km Amravati-Akola-Jalgaon-Fagane highway number 53 (old NH6).Travellers go through a harrowing time as expansion has come to a grinding halt for over two years after NHAI concessionaire went bankrupt owing to a financial crisis.The road expansion project for 194km between Amravati-Chikhli (Rs2,754.18 crore), 150km from Chikhli-Fagane (2,452.82 crore) and 141km from Fagane to Gujarat border (2,321.74cr) was bagged by infrastructure group IL & FS roads network arm — IL & FS Transportation Networks (ITNL) in 2015. The project cost also included land acquisition but agreement with NHAI is for civil works only.As the company ran into a financial problem, works in these stretches have been left incomplete and travellers are facing the heat, especially in the over 300km Amravati-Akola-Jalgaon patch.This is the second time that project has been stalled. Earlier, in 2012-13 L&T bagged the road project till Gujarat border but expressed inability to start works. Fresh tenders were floated when IL & FS bagged the contract for Amravati-Chikli and Fagane-Jalgaon-Gujarat border. No bids were received for Chikhli-Fagane stretch and it was given on hybrid annuity model (HAM).“Entire road and bridges have been opened for widening but work on not a single stretch has been completed. Travelling here is a battle between life and death as there are many diversions, craters and pits on incomplete roads till Jalgaon,” said Baba Daware of Baba Travels, Nagpur.“Heavy vehicles though have been managing somehow, it is a nightmare for passengers travelling in light vehicles. Recently, Amravati NHAI has started work on tarring pits,” added Daware.“Due to bad roads, private bus operators to Dhule, Pune, Jalna, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Surat, and other key cities are losing on money as fuel consumption and travel time has increased due to bad roads. There are frequent breakdowns like damage to tyres, fuel tank, shock-ups etc,” he said.Daware said the worst part is that four-laning work has started from both Wardha and Amravati sides and has been left incomplete. So, one cannot travel comfortably from Wardha and from Amravati side as vast road stretches are in bad shape.Mahendra Luley of Royal Travels agrees that transporters are facing the heat of bad roads from Amravati. “Hapless passengers are complaining of bone-jarring journey but have no alternatives. Partial tarring by NHAI won’t solve the problem. Buses are operating at 40 kmph on these bad stretches increasing travel time by 2 hours,” Luley said.Amravati NHAI project director Vilas Bramhankar, in-charge of 194km Amravati-Chikhli stretch, said, “The project has been stalled for financial problems of the company and road work stopped in June last. We’ve repaired potholes and bad road blocks in the 194km road at the cost of Rs3.20 crore and made it motorable now.”However, an ambulance driver, who did not want to be named, said, “While shifting patients from Akola, I used to reach in Nagpur in four hours but now it takes six hours and it’s a hell of journey with already distressed patients. It seems travellers woes will not end soon amid litigation with the concessionaire.”NHAI sources said the IF & LS signed agreement for road between Amravati-Chikhli on September 8, 2015. The four-laning road was to be completed by May 2019, but up to December 31, 2018, only 10.96km (22.13%) of road has been complete.Dhule project director Arvind Kale said, “A Rs 5.34 crore estimate for repairs of existing road for safety of traffic has been submitted to regional office at Nagpur as IF & LS has failed to complete the work. We have also issued notices to the company asking why its contract should not be terminated. Of the 150km stretch on Fagane-Gujarat border, 85km has been completed. Work on Chikhli-Tarsod and Tarsod-Fagne work is in progress.”ROADS TO HELL* PM Narendra Modi-headed Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on June 17, 2015 cleared 485km four-laning road projects worth Rs7,528.74 crore including land acquisition cost from Amravati to Maharashtra border to Gujarat.* Of these, Amravati-Chikhli (194km) project costs Rs2,754.18 crore followed by Chikhli-Fagane (150km) Rs2452.82 crore and Fagane-Gujarat border (141km) Rs2321.74 crore.* Road development in 485km under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) has come to a grinding halt as company that bagged contracts on BOT basis went into financial crisis.* The worst affected is over 100km patch between Amravati-Akola. NHAI has started road tarring on its own now.* Financial closure has not been achieved by the concessionaire yet and he has missed two deadlines. NHAI has issued notices to IF & LS as to why its contract should not be terminated.* Hundreds of huge trees were felled damaging environment for road widening and there is no compensatory afforestation yet

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