Gurugram corridor collapse: NHAI slaps show cause notices on developer, 3 others

The NHAI on Friday said it has slapped show-cause notices on a developer as well as three others and barred two experts for two years after the collapse of an under-construction elevated corridor in Gurugram.

The NHAI has also suspended work on the site along with the imposition of penalty of Rs 50,000 per day with effect from August 24, 2020, on the defaulting contractor till the requisite safety measures are put in place as per the standards and provisions of the contract agreement, it said.

"On the recent mishappening of collapse of a span of under-construction elevated corridor on 6-laning of NH-248-A from Rajiv Chowk to Sohna on 22.08.2020, NHAI has initiated strict action against the companies/ personnel involved in the construction of the project," it said in a statement.

It has also constituted a four-member Committee of technical experts headed by former Director-General, Roads, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, VL Patankar for a detailed investigation in the matter, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) added.

The committee will examine lapses in the construction and suggest remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.

"NHAI is committed to follow the highest standards in highway construction and any lapses in these will be dealt with zero tolerance. Strict action will be taken against the defaulters and they will be debarred from NHAI projects for a long period with severe penalties," its Chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said.

The authority said prima facie evidence indicates that there may have been deficiencies/ lapses on part of vendors, resulting in this incident threatening the safety of the users and pedestrians.

The NHAI has accordingly taken action, which includes immediate demobilisation of Devender Reddy, Senior Quality cum Material Expert and R K Prajapati, Team Leader cum Senior Bridge Engineer from the site and debarment from engagement in any NHAI projects for a period of 2 years, it added.

The authority has issued show cause notice to the project's developer - Rajiv Chowk - Sohna Highway Pvt Ltd (M/s Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt Ltd) - for deficiencies in the construction work.

In addition, show cause notices have been issued against L N Malviya Infra Projects Pvt Ltd for lapses in discharging the duties of the Independent Engineer, and Indian Technocrat Ltd for negligence in preparation and review of design/ drawings of the construction works.

Besides, the notice has been also served on B&S Engineering Consultants Pvt Ltd for lapses in the preparation of design/drawings of the construction works.

"It was also observed during the inspection of the site by NHAI officials that the contractor has not taken adequate traffic safety measures viz barricading, deployment of marshals etc. Therefore, NHAI has suspended the work on site along with the imposition of penalty of Rs 50,000 per day w.e.f. 24.08.2020 on the defaulting contractor," it said.