No bus plied on Chopal road since 2014: RTI

The Tribune: Shimla: Thursday, August 23, 2018.

Residents of Pabbas, Mashroan, Tipra and Tiyari in Dewat, Chopal, have become a victim of   “red-tapism”.

There is no bus service on the 14-km Pabbas-Mashroan road, built at the cost of Rs 4.68 crore under the PM Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), in June 2014.

“There is no mode of transportation and the road is in bad shape,” Kuldip Kumar, a resident of Tiyari village, said.

Kuldip had lodged a complaint with the PMO through a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2017. He had attached the copies of documents he had received from the PWD office, Chopal, under the Right to Information Act (RTI) to substantiate his charge that the “road was not built as per set parameters and no bus or vehicle plied on it”.

According to the RTI documents, the PMO had sought “an immediate reply” on the status of the 14-km  Pabbas-Mashroan road from the then Congress government on February 22, 2017.

However, the previous CMO did not reply to the PMO. With the change of guard, the CMO wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary on June 7 this year, after 16 months, directing the PWD to file a reply sought by the PMO.

Though the PMO had directed the Chief Secretary to take action, respond to the PMO and reply to the petitioner on February 22, 2017, nothing was done. “I have not received any reply from the CMO and the PWD. The condition of the road has gone from bad to worse and only small utility vehicles ply on the road,” Kuldip told The Tribune.

He said the PWD contractor had started the work in 2007, but retailing walls were being raised these days and many irregularities had surfaced as far as the use of funds was concerned, which should be probed. “No truck or bus has plied on the road so far. Also, the condition of the 5-km Dopti-Pabbas-road, which links the road with the Chopal headquarters, is in bad shape. The stretch was opened in 2015-16 by the former Chief Minister,” he said.

On the other hand, the CMO claimed that they had sought a reply from the PWD on the road status, but PWD Executive Engineer S Paul claimed: “The PWD runs tippers on the road. It was built as per the PMGSY’s road parameters. The work was delayed as it did not have forest clearance. Phase-II works have been started. It is the HRTC which has to start the bus service.”