Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 10: The roads of National Highway Authority of India are usually well maintained but the road stretch from Kunjwanti to Lakhanpur had some potholes whose number increased manifolds after the winter rains, making ride on this stretch bumpy.
Mostly the authorities have been facing paucity of funds for their failure to repair or maintain the roads but in case of National Highway, the authorities have been failed to utilize funds allocated to them for the repairs and maintenance of roads in the last three years.
According to the details available, an amount of Rs. 10.34 Crores was allocated for repairs and maintenance of National Highway roads in Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2016-17, out of which only Rs. 6.50 were utilized, which accounted for over 62.86 percent of the allocated amount.
Similarly for the year 2017-18, an amount of Rs. 12.95 Crores was allocated but merely Rs. 2.96 Crores was utilized. For the financial year 2018-19, an amount of Rs. 33.48 Crores was allocated out of which only 9.14 Crores was utilized.
According the expenditure statements, the reduction in trend showed a declining trend from 62.86 percent in 2016-17, 22.85 percent in 2017-18 and 27.29 percent in the year 2018-19.
The stretch from Kunjwani to Lakhanpur is full of potholes at several places and some of the potholes have become permanent since the road was constructed. Few years back the road was repaired and blacktopped from Lakhanpur to Hiranagar but for the last over two years the road was not repaired despite having availability of funds. Even the potholes at Kunjwani bypass have become permanent and time and again it proved fatal for vehicle owners especially the bike riders.
“It is beyond comprehension as if the funds were available to the Authority, why same were not utilized for the repair of road and it was claimed by some of the officials that due to failure to charge toll on the road, repairs could not be done but figures speak otherwise”, an official said. |
