Taking a serious note of the irregularities in supervision of the construction of Abohar bypass, Vijay Inder Singla, PWD Minister Punjab, suspended the XEN in charge and issued a show Cause Notice under rule 10 to the SE for failure to supervise the construction work and also charge-sheeted the SDE and JE concerned for Major penalty under rule 8.Advocating stern action against defaulters, Mr. Singla said that Captain Amrinder Singh led Punjab government will not compromise on the quality of construction material. He said that a minor lapse in quality has serious repercussions; it may pose grave threat to life and property. He added that as the elected representative of people he will ensure that every penny of peoples’ money is used in the right earnest and added that ‘my message to all concerned is loud and clear that roads and bridges are the backbone of all economic activity and my department will not let go any sub-standard construction in the public domain. The department employees have to pull up their socks, be vigil and adopt Zero-Compromise Approach, else they would be in rough waters.’
It is pertinent to mention that Public Works Minister along with Mr. Hussanlal Secretary Public Works Department and the Quality Control Team inspected the work of Abohar bypass on May 14. Braving the scorching heat for over two hours, Singla ensured sampling under his personal supervision. The quality control team took samples of bitumen works and also took samples of chequered tiles having been put on the central divider. The visual inspection layed bare the fact that a large number of chequered tiles were cracked /broken within about 10 days of the construction having taken place. It was further observed that no cement mortar was used to place the tiles as required and provided in the DNIT/ bill of quantities. The samples were taken and examined in the research lab. Preliminary investigation reveals that the quality of two samples collected on the spot are sub-standard and fall in the rejected category of materials.The Minister said that detailed investigation is on and thereafter necessary action would be initiated against the Contractor. None of the defaulters will be spared, he added.