Punjab govt panel to suggest remedial action on airport road

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today formed a four-member committee to suggest urgent remedial measures for the severely damaged Airport Road in Mohali, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
The chief minister, on the recommendation of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), has directed the committee to submit its report within 30 days in the interest of the general public, the CMO said in a statement.
Built during the Akali regime, the Rs 15-crore road built in Mohali became "virtually non-motorable in less than two years of its construction", a CMO spokesperson said, adding that the road is already at the centre of a technical investigation by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).

The project was undertaken by the former GMADA chief engineer Surinder Pal Singh, who is currently in jail for his alleged corrupt practices, he said.
"GMADA has already closed the entire six-km stretch on Airport Road - from Airport Chowk to Landran-Banur Road T- Point - following a series of fatal accidents," the spokesperson said.
The committee comprises the technical adviser to CM, B S Dhaliwal, the chief engineer of National Highway PWD (B&R), A K Singla, the chief engineer of GMADA, Sunil Kansal, and principal scientist and head of flexible pavements division of CRRI, Manoj Kumar Shukla, the official statement mentioned.

The panel will undertake its task without compromising the technical investigation by the CRRI or the Vigilance Bureau, it added.

CRRI, which was entrusted with the investigation in February this year, had submitted its first report on July 4. It was examined by GMADA engineers, who conveyed their observations to CRRI on July 21. "The observations co-related the design of the road, its execution and traffic volume survey conducted by CRRI, highlighting the major causes behind the damage and remedial measures," the official statement said.
A CRRI team, along with the top brass of the State Vigilance Bureau, visited Mohali on September 20 to inspect various stretches of damaged roads constructed during the previous regime.

"The team has collected three more samples from the Airport Chowk to Kharar-Banur Road stretch, which was also badly damaged, and one sample each from TDI road, Aerocity Road and NH-64 to NH-22 Road," the spokesman said, adding that the chief minister will analyse the report, test results and the remedial measures suggested by CRRI and take a final decision in this matter.
Quoting additional chief secretary of housing and urban development, Vini Mahajan, the statement further said that she wanted the ongoing investigation to reach its logical end and fix responsibility on the erring officials involved in this project.