Guwahati: A 206.42-crore road project in Assam is under fire. Residents in Karbi Anglong district allege financial foul play and shoddy construction on the 50-km stretch from Chokihola to Tarapung. Gautam Construction holds the contract under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme, but locals claim the company offloaded half the work to two subcontractors, M.P. Agarwal and Manoj Parik.
Critics say the project ignored official specifications. The Detailed Project Report required materials from a quarry in Udalguri, yet residents claim builders simply pillaged sand and gravel from the nearby Kaliyani River. Excavators tore up the riverbed to get the supplies. These materials supposedly lack quality. The allegations get worse. Residents claim workers used banana tree trunks as substitutes for proper PVC drainage pipes. They also allege that thin, unreinforced masonry replaced required drainage structures.
The physical road is allegedly failing already. While the project report mandates a 390 mm thickness, test excavations found some sections reach only 160 mm. The road cannot handle the weather. Locals point to a retaining wall that collapsed just two months after builders finished the job. They also argue that ignored requests for additional culverts caused washouts during light rain. Residents stated: "The role of the third-party quality monitoring agency, New Sun Consulting Firm of Guwahati, has also come under question."
The public wants answers. They are demanding a full technical and financial audit to check the books and the dirt. Authorities have yet to receive statements from the Public Works Department, the contractors, or the consulting firm. A formal investigation remains pending.
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