Sack Road Cons Min for irregularities in reconstruction of

Senior Congress leader and Legislator Prem Chandra Mishra on Tuesday demanded sacking of Road Construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav for use of "inferior quality steel" in reconstruction of superstructure of the Mahatma Gandhi bridge which connects south and north Bihar.

Mishra claimed that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report 2018-19, parts of which appeared in newspapers Tuesday,has highlighted use of low quality steel in rebuilding superstructure of the 5.57 km long bridge on Ganga river.

The report, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the current session, must be made public, he demanded.

Mishra,a Congress MLC, demanded Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order a probe against the minister,Road Construction Department's Principal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials in the matter.

"The CAG has in its report accepted that low quality of steel is being used in the construction of superstructure of the bridge. The agreement has been violated by those involved in the construction," Mishra told reporters here.

"This is a big scam worth Rs 1000 crore...This has thoroughly exposed the tall claim of 'sushashan and rule of law' made by Nitish Kumar government of which BJP is a partner," the legislator alleged.

Mishra was accompanied by senior party leaders H K Verma, Subodh Kumar and others during the press meet held at the party office here.

He said he raised the issue twice in the Legislative Council but did not get any satisfactory reply.

Mishra said he also wrote an email to union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari in December 2018 highlighting the issue but nothing happened.

He alleged that three engineers associated with the project were removed because they wrote to the road construction department that the work was not done as per the agreement.

Not only this, the company, engaged in the bridge reconstruction work, made a profit of Rs 300 crore by dismantling the entire bridge in one go whereas it had to be dismantled in three segments, Mishra alleged.

Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, however, refused to comment on the matter.

However, a senior official of the department, wishing anonymity, said that the entire issue falls under the domain of the central government.