Experts find major defects in

Hoshiarpur /Daljeet Ajnoha/Daljeet Ajnoha
: Experts inspecting the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) road linking Kharaudi to Vadhan have reported numerous serious defects in the 13.200-km carriageway, prompting sharp criticism from local Labour Party leaders. Jagpal Dhiman and Lahmbar Singh said the road — described in project documents as 15.500 metres wide with 1.1-metre berms and built at a cost of Rs 8.42 crore — shows clear divergence from specifications on the ground.
Officials had earmarked Rs 54.71 lakh for five-year maintenance, with annual maintenance estimates rising from Rs 6.74 lakh (2023–24) to Rs 15.90 lakh (2027–28). Works listed included grass-cutting, erosion repairs, berm restoration, filling of potholes, twice-yearly repair of roadside drains, culvert maintenance and painting. But inspectors found many drains entirely missing, berms reduced in places to barely 6 inches–1 foot instead of the specified 3 feet, and road widths varying widely — in spots measuring only 10–14 feet instead of the mandated 16.5 feet including berms.
Dhiman charged that departmental engineers quietly approved the incomplete works and that higher officials’ site visits and audits must have produced misleading reports. He warned that pervasive corruption has eroded construction standards and turned roads into accident-prone hazards. He noted additional risks: dangerously placed electricity poles, open water tanks, refuse heaps and animal dung near the carriageway, and absence of essential road-safety features such as traffic signs, warning boards, school signs and zebra crossings.
Demanding a full probe, Dhiman asked whether the central government will hand the case to the CBI to expose alleged siphoning of crores of rupees.