Bill withdrawn, PMGSY road project left unattended
Source: Chronicle News Service / Kaimuanthang Mangte

Churachandpur, May 16 2022: A road constructed under PMGSY connecting Samulamlan sub-divisional headquarters and G Songgel village in Churachandpur district has been left unattended after the contractor concerned allegedly withdrew the sanctioned amount.

The road covering a distance of 13.83 km and around 40 villages was sanctioned under package number MN0324J of the financial year 2018-2019 .

The total sanctioned amount for construction and maintenance work of the road was Rs 6,36,54,041 .

The contractor namely Chirom Iboyaima of Imphal West district had already withdrawn a sum of Rs 3,50,75,004 out of the total sanctioned amount of Rs 6,36,54,041 .

The department concerned had already released the sanctioned amount in four phases.

A sum of Rs 66,23,274 in the first phase.

Rs 78,93,380 in second, Rs 55,09,274 in third and Rs 5Q,49,076 in the fourth phase were withdrawn by the Contractor.

However, the road remains incomplete even after three years of its sanctioning leaving the locals to wonder as to why it remained unattended as such a short stretch road could be completed within a year.

A team of media persons from Churachandpur visited the road project sites on Monday afternoon and found the road in deplorable condition.

The team came across total absence of bitumen along the road surface making it unmotorable throughout the season.

The road was found covered with grass and other small plants making it look like more of an animal trek.

The media team also interacted with local villagers and many of them expressed dissatisfaction over negligence of the contractor and-urged the government to take action against the erring contractor.

It is also learnt from a reliable source that the contractor Chirom Iboyaima had engaged another sub-con-tractor for carrying out the road construction.

However, Iboyaima withheld all the funds meant for construction of the road and deposited in his own bank account, leaving the sub contractor in the lurch.

The sub-contractor had done most of the earth levelling from his own pocket.

Left in dilemma, the sub-contractor having no other option even filed an RTI to the department concerned but the department never responded.

Villagers settling along the road also conveyed about untold hardship faced by people of the area due to non-completion of the work.

During monsoon, the road becomes unmotorable as it is usually water logged and muddy.

During dry season, the road becomes-dusty and poses health hazards to people living along the road.

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