Shobha: Blacklist Navayug firm

MP Shobha Karandlaje urged the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to blacklist the Navayug Construction Company which has allegedly failed to completely execute the work as per the assigned agreement.

The company has been entrusted with the responsibility of making the stretch from Talapady to Kundapur a four-lane one.

Raising the issue at the District Development Coordination Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting held on Monday, the MP expressed dissatisfaction over the lackadaisical approach of the company that has failed to maintain the set deadline.

There are a number of potholes on the stretch. Sadly, the company has failed to even set right them, she claimed.

An official from NHAI, Mangaluru, said that the company is going through a severe fund crisis. But it has now agreed to take up the repair work. It is currently starting the process of repairing the potholes. As many as 34 km of service road will be developed, he added.

He said that once the work of the proposed projects in the agreement is completed, the company will look into the additional demands. The Karavali and Padubidri junction works will get over by December while the Kundapur Main Junction work is expected to be completed by March 2019, he explained.

With regard to the proposed widening of the National Highway 169, the executive engineer of the project informed the meeting that the national highway project is proposed to be executed at Karavali Junction to Parkala which has 10% feasibility in the first phase. The land acquisition process has begun, he said.

He added that 16 works, under Central Relief Fund, are being implemented at a cost of Rs 180 crore. There are also another 96 works proposed for technical bid clearance, he stated.

Another issue that was raised was the problem encountered by BSNL users. The MP alleged that she has to face the wrath of the BSNL users wherever she goes.

“Server is badly functioning and it very difficult for the users to get uninterrupted connectivity,” she said.

The officer-in-charge said there are 165 3G towers and 215 2G towers in the district. In the past four years, 44 new towers have been set up and there are 28 proposals for 3G towers.

Karandlaje expressed apprehensions over the problems of the beneficiaries under Mathrupoorna scheme.

Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis said a canteen has been set up at Kundapur Government Hospital under the scheme. Nearly 70-80 pregnant women avail of the scheme’s benefits, she added.

Karandlaje also lamented that 135 infant mortality cases have been reported in the district.

Elaborating on the digitalisation process in the district, an officer said that the PDOs can seek the help of the business correspondents to ensure that every household is covered under the scheme in each Gram Panchayat, he added.

The business correspondents will take up house-to-house programme under the scheme. Under Ujwal Yojana, 14,639 out of 18,665 households are assigned to a company to ensure the benefits of the scheme reaches to the beneficiaries.

The deputy commissioner said that a separate meeting should be held with the company officials for effective execution of the programme.

Zilla Panchayat Deputy Secretary Srinivas Rao said toilets have been built in 28,789 households at a cost of more than Rs 8 crore. The target was 26,780

Under the project of bringing Varahi water to Udupi, the officer said the proposal has been referred for technical bid. Only the raw water for fourth months from Varahi River will be made available to the city, he added.