Karnal’s Karan market road work hangs in balance, debarred contractor seeks fresh quality review
Karnal Municipal Corporation has floated tender for remaining work, but contractor’s plea for reconsideration puts project in limbo
Work on the long-pending road project at Karan Canal market, earlier known as Mughal Canal market, continues to hang in the balance after the contractor, debarred over alleged delays and quality issues, sought a fresh review before the remaining work is handed over to another agency.
The development comes even as the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) has floated a tender for completing the unfinished work.
The owner of the construction agency has approached the Haryana Urban Local Bodies Department, seeking reconsideration of the decision to debar the firm. The contractor has also sought fresh testing of the work already executed at the site by an authorised agency, maintaining that a new assessment should be carried out before any final action is taken against the firm.
The KMC has forwarded the file to the higher authorities for a decision.
The project to convert the bitumen roads of Karan Canal market into cement-concrete roads was started in February 2024. However, work could begin only in April due to the absence of a site for preparing road construction material.
The project covered both stretches of the market, spanning around 2.5 km, and was to be completed within six months. The estimated cost was Rs 2.43 crore.
The project was taken up following demands from local residents and traders, who had complained about the poor condition of the two roads. The stretches were riddled with potholes, creating inconvenience for commuters and raising the risk of accidents.
However, delays in completing the work, coupled with quality-related concerns, led the KMC to terminate the contract and debar the construction agency from undertaking government works.
“We have already floated a tender for completion of the remaining work, but now the agency has approached the higher authorities, seeking reconsideration of the debarment and requesting that the quality of the work be tested by another agency. We have sent the file to the higher authorities for taking a final decision,” said Priyanka Saini, XEN.
KMC Commissioner Saloni Sharma said the matter was currently with the higher authorities and a final decision was awaited.
“After the decision by the higher authorities, further process will be initiated. We will ensure quality work so that residents get better roads,” said the Commissioner.
