Contrary to developmental claims made by successive State Governments, the Marwadi-Thaig motor road in the Chamoli district presents a picture of anomalies hampering development especially in the mountainous regions. Work on this 10 kilometre long road to the remote area has been underway for eight years now but only three kilometer stretch has been constructed so far.
The task of constructing this motor road at a cost of about Rs 3.40 crore was started in 2008 under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This road construction was slated to be completed in 2011 but eight years into the task, a stretch of about seven kilometres still needs to be constructed. Despite action being taken against some officials concerned, the pace of road construction is yet to pick up.
It should be noted that the construction of this road has been affected by dispute since its initial phase with varied irregularities being brought up from time to time. It was this questionable working of the department concerned that made the chief minister suspend four junior engineers. However, questions are being raised at varied anomalies cropping up even now. A wave of delight had spread among residents of the remote Thaig village eight years ago when the construction of this road was approved and started.
The road work is moving at a snail’s pace apart from which issues like inferior quality construction work have not been resolved yet. The State administration had inquired into the case and also taken action against officials concerned found guilty but even this has not brought about the desired improvement in this roadwork. local villager Dhan Singh Negi told this correspondent that work on the initial three kilometers of the road has still not been completed.
The work now is being undertaken with focus on getting a favourable report in the inquiry being conducted at the rural secretary level. The debris on this road have exacerbated problems faced by the villagers in travelling, added Negi. On the other hand, the contractor Deepak Saklani said that inquiry should be conducted if irregularities are emerging in the work.