Nelamangala-Tumakuru road widening hits legal hurdle

The delay in the upgrading of the Nelamangala-Tumakuru section of National Highway 4 into a six-lane road has not only turned several pockets of the stretch into bottlenecks but has also posed risk to commuters as seen on Thursday.

Realising the challenges, officials of the National Highways Authority of India had come up with the project to upgrade the Nelamangala and Tumakuru section more than three years ago.

The project for widening the 46-km section between Nelamangala and Tumakuru was planned in 2019-20 with a tentative cost of Rs 1,152 crore.The final feasibility report and bid documents were submitted to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) back in February 2019. Officials had hoped to begin the work in 2020 and invited bids for the project.

However, issues raised by the concessionaires have come as a major bump in the road for the authorities who had given priority to the project. The stretch was given to two companies under the build operate transfer (BOT) model.

The contract for the 32.5 km stretch of the highway was given to JAS Toll Pvt Limited.While the concession period expired in June, 2021, the company moved the arbitration tribunal and succeeded in getting an extension of 474 days. The NHAI has now challenged the tribunal order at the Delhi HC.

Even the contract with Navayuga Bengalooru Tollway Private Limited, which had a 20-year concession period till December 9, 2027 for 19.5 km of the section of the road, was cancelled in March due to a default. However, the NHAI and the company settled the issue amicably and the toll collection contract was given to Sai Enterprises till April 2022.

“The bids are under evaluation. The legal dispute has delayed the project. We hope to finalise the issue by the end of March. If everything goes well, the bids will be awarded by March/April. The successful bidder will have four years to complete the work,” a NHAI senior official told DH.

State officials, however, suggested that the NHAI should take up the widening project by giving an undertaking in the court that it will abide by the outcome of the legal proceedings. “The road connects Bengaluru with 23 districts. The NHAI should consider upgrading it to eight lanes instead of six lanes. The demand for service road should also be incorporated,” an official said.

Watch the latest DH videos here: