State Road Construction department today fixed a deadline till March this year to all the contractors working on road construction projects in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas to complete the delayed work.

A meeting was convened by Engineer in Chief of the department to discuss the situation of pending projects in the LWE areas, most

of which were sanction in year 2013-14. The meeting was attended by chief engineers and executive engineers of Ranchi, Dhanbad, Gumla, Lohardaga, Daltonganj and Hazaribagh, along with contractors of all the projects.

A total of 12 projects, three in Ranchi, five in Hazaribagh, two in Gumla and one each in Lohardaga and Daltonganj were reviewed in the meeting.

Engineer in Chief Rash Bihari Singh said, “Some of the projects have been delayed for as long as two years. The contractors informed that the major reason behind most of the delays was land acquisition and forest clearance but now these issues have been sorted out and they have assured us that it will be completed by March.”

He added, “If they fail to keep their word, not just their contract will be cancelled but they would also be blacklisted.”

Meanwhile, the construction work on 14 new roads and 55 bridges under phase one of another scheme Road Connectivity Project in Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) has already started.

A total of 15 roads covering over 370 kms and 61 bridges have to be constructed under this scheme across the state in first phase. The budget for the project is over Rs 700 crore. The work on remaining one road and six bridges is to be started soon.

Under this scheme, the ministry of rural development will bear 60 percent of the construction cost of roads in LWE areas while 40 percent cost will be borne by the State. However, the state also has to bear the cost of land acquisition, utility shifting, marking, signage and other expenses.

“All the roads and bridges under this scheme will be constructed before March 2020,” Singh said.