Latest news with #AishbaghROB
NDTV
16-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Madhya Pradesh's U-Turn On 90-Degree Bridge Blunder
After a public outcry over bizarrely angled designs - a bridge with two 90-degree turns in Indore and a flyover in Bhopal that looked more like an origami experiment - the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Madhya Pradesh government hit the brakes. They issued a new circular, saying no project has been halted after it scrapped the General Arrangement Drawings (GADs) of 355 projects, including 140 under-construction flyovers, railway overbridges (ROBs), and elevated corridors worth Rs 1,200 crores. As the engineers and contractors were preparing to halt the construction of these projects, the PWD decided to re-engineer its own decision. The department revoked the order, claiming it was a "mistake." Chief Engineer PC Verma, who had earlier signed the cancellation, said, "The order was issued by mistake." Meanwhile, a new circular states no project has been halted. The department said it was only tightening bolts on quality control and technical oversight, not slamming brakes on construction. The PWD has sought a detailed report from all districts (PWD offices) about the actual status as well as the design of all existing and proposed bridges. In response to growing criticism, the state formed a high-level technical committee. This committee will now examine every nook, curve, and angle of all existing and under-construction flyovers and railway overbridges. From design and alignment to height, speed limits, and safety norms - nothing will get through without a solid pass. This panel includes PWD's Chief Engineer (Buildings and Roads), Chief Engineer (Setu Parikshetra), Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation's (MPRDC) Chief Engineer, and officials from the Railway and the Municipal Corporation. Experts from outside the government may also be called in. Additionally, the government has mandated departmental exams for engineers. Executive Engineers, AEs, and Sub-Engineers must appear for tests after August 15, and their postings will now depend on their marks. They also appointed a Technical Advisor of MPRDC to collaborate with the Indian Academy for Highway Engineering to develop a training module for engineers, who will now have to study Indian Roads Congress (IRC) codes and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) guidelines. Two weeks ago, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered action against those responsible for the infamous 90-degree Aishbagh ROB in Bhopal. Eight engineers, including two Chief Engineers, were suspended; a departmental inquiry is also being initiated against a retired Superintending Engineer. The construction agency and the design consultant behind the faulty blueprint have been blacklisted, and the bridge will only be inaugurated post-correction.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
PWD gets full-time secretary after CM cracks whip over ROB flaw
Bhopal: The state govt has appointed a full-time principal secretary to the Public Works Department (PWD) after six months, reinstating senior bureaucrat Sukh Veer Singh days after CM Mohan Yadav ordered disciplinary action in the wake of serious design flaws in the Aishbagh railway overbridge (ROB) project in Bhopal. The public works department has seen four officers in the past year and a half. When the incumbent state govt was formed, Sukh Veer Singh was the principal secretary, PWD. DP Ahuja was placed as PS, PWD, and Singh was transferred. Later, additional chief secretary KC Gupta headed the department, but in Dec, the PWD dept's additional charge was given to additional chief secretary Neeraj Mandloi. After CM Mohan Yadav on Saturday took action against the faulty design of the Aishbagh ROB incident in Bhopal, the govt posted a full-time PS to the department and brought back Sukh Veer Singh, known as a strict officer in MP, back to the PWD department. The CM wrote on social media, "Serious negligence was observed in the construction of the Aishbagh ROB, and I ordered an investigation into the matter. Based on the investigation report, action was taken against eight engineers from the PWD. Seven engineers, including two CEs, were suspended with immediate effect. A departmental inquiry will be conducted against one retired SE." Due to the submission of a faulty design for the ROB in this project, both the construction agency and the design consultant have been blacklisted. A committee has been formed to address the necessary improvements in the ROB. The ROB will be inaugurated only after the improvements are made," the CM wrote.
