News: NHAI imposes ₹3-cr penalty on Sohna road contractor for mishap last year-03-02-2021
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/gurugram-news/nhai-imposes-3-cr-penalty-on-sohna-road-contractor-for-mishap-last-year-101612374475685.html
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) imposed a ₹3-crore penalty on the contractor responsible for building the Sohna road elevated project, a section of which crashed near Vipul Green condominium on August 22 last year
The authority withdrew its decision to debar the contractor -- Oriental Infrastructure Ltd -- from participating in future projects after it agreed to pay the penalty and to follow other recommendations, including improving its standard operating procedures (SOPs). The order was passed on January 27 but made public on Wednesday.
NHAI project director (Gurugram) Shashi Bhushan confirmed the penalty but did not comment on the decision to revoke the debarment.
Another senior NHAI official privy to the matter, however, said that the contractor had submitted that the decision to debar it was too harsh and requested it be withdrawn.
“The authority considered its submission in light of the report of the expert committee (that looked into the incident) and decided to withdraw its decision,” said the NHAI official. “The onus of rectification, however, was imposed on the contractor at its own cost.”
A senior official from Oriental Structures Pvt Ltd, not authorised to speak to the media, said, “We have taken all corrective measures and included more safety measures to prevent such incidents in future. The SOP has also been revised. We have also paid the penalty.”
The 21.66 km-long Sohna road project has two parts — an underpass and an elevated road from Subash Chowk to a point beyond Badshahpur. The second part comprises the expansion of the 12.72-km road from Badshahpur to Sohna and will involve the construction of flyovers and underpasses at major crossings to ensure smooth movement of vehicles on the entire stretch.
On August 22, 2020, a concrete span between pillars 10 and 11 crashed and work was suspended. No one was injured in the incident.
An expert committee formed by the NHAI looked into the incident and submitted its recommendations. In the first week of last September, the company was debarred from participating in NHAI project bids.
On Tuesday, the NHAI said that in order to deal with the lapses in highway development, it has issued a strict policy to decide penal action against defaulting firms and personnel .
It said that a graded penal action will be taken against the defaulters in cases of minor lapses, major incidents and major failures resulting in loss of human lives. In case of a major lapse leading to loss of human life, fine up to ₹10 crore and debarment of the firm/personnel up to three years along with rectification by the defaulting contractors, concessionaires on their own cost may be imposed.
For major lapses where no casualties are reported, rectification by the defaulting contractors, concessionaires on their own cost and /or debarment of firm up to one year with penalty up to ₹5 crore along with debarment of concerned personnel for up to two years from NHAI projects has been provisioned. The authority has made a detailed list for such actions for major and minor lapses, said the statement.
