Penalty of Rs 20 lakh on contractor for negligence in construction of Ghaghar river bridge

Rajesh Tiwari (Bureau Report)

Sonbhadra / Uttar Pradesh –

During the public hearing and review meeting held in the Collectorate Auditorium, District Magistrate Charchal Gaur made a detailed review of the progress of the bridge, access road and protective works under construction over the Ghaghar river on the Patvadh-Basuhari road. During the review, when the progress of the work was found to be very slow, the District Magistrate expressed his strong displeasure and reprimanded the executing agency and the contractor. It was told in the meeting that instructions had been issued several times in the past regarding the said project and the contractor had given assurance of completing the girder launching by June 20, 2026.

Despite this, the expected progress in the work was not achieved. On this, the District Magistrate directed to impose a Liquidated Damage (LD) penalty of Rs 20 lakh on the concerned contractor M/s Parikshit Nirmanak for laxity and negligence in the construction work. This amount will be deducted from the upcoming bills. The District Magistrate said that no negligence will be tolerated in important projects related to public interest.

He warned that if there is no expected improvement in the pace of work and progress is not achieved as per the stipulated deadline, then strict action will be taken in future including deduction of more funds from the bills. In the meeting, a detailed weekly action plan was presented by the contractor agreeing to complete the entire work within the next 50 days from June 24, 2026, i.e. by August 12, 2026.

The District Magistrate directed that as per the presented action plan, real progress should be visible at the workplace every week. If progress is found to be less than the set target, action will be taken to impose additional penalty. The District Magistrate also instructed the concerned officers to monitor the progress of the work by conducting regular inspections and to remove any kind of obstruction immediately and complete the project in a timely manner. He said that with the completion of the bridge construction, thousands of people of the area will get better transportation facilities and local development will gain momentum.