Highway of hurdles: Baddi-Nalagarh 4-laning becomes motorists’ misery

What was once envisioned as a smooth industrial lifeline has today turned into a rutted ordeal. The much-hyped four-laning of the Baddi-Nalagarh National Highway (NH-105) has not only missed its deadlines but has also left thousands of commuters, industrial workers and transporters stranded in a quagmire of slush, potholes and broken promises.

The Gujarat-based Patel Infrastructure Limited, entrusted with the job, abandoned the project midway after completing only about 45 per cent of the work in 39 months. Worse still, despite substandard execution and glaring inadequacies, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not levied a single penalty on the company. The only explanation offered is that the final settlement awaits "legal clearance", a justification that offers little comfort to the countless who suffer daily on this broken stretch.

The scale of delay is staggering. Against a financial target of Rs 469 crore, the company could barely deliver 40 per cent of the work amounting to Rs 220 crore. Meanwhile, the project's very purpose - facilitating industries that contribute massively to Himachal Pradesh's economy - has been defeated. Today, traversing the 17.37-km stretch between Baddi and Nalagarh takes an exhausting hour and a half, as vehicles crawl through a cratered, slush-filled mess that worsens with every spell of rain.

The NHAI's firefighting attempts have been feeble at best. Contracts worth crores were floated for temporary repairs, but results were dismal. A Rs 2.5-crore paver block project from Baddi traffic lights to the bus stand was left incomplete, while the stone dust scattered on the stretch only worsened the already slushy condition. "The road has been rendered unfit even for pedestrians. Accidents are frequent and culverts face damage," said Manish, a local resident, pointing to a crumbling spot near Bhud.

Adding insult to injury, the very design of the elevated carriageway has turned into a wall for industries along the route. With entry points blocked, trucks struggle to access factories, disrupting loading and unloading operations. According to Anil Sharma, general secretary of the Nalagarh Industries Association, nearly 50 industries, including one of the region's oldest spinning mills, are struggling to dispatch goods. For an area contributing a major chunk of the state's GDP, this is a body blow to productivity and growth.

Fresh bids worth Rs 420 crore have now been invited to complete the remaining work. But even if contracts are finalised swiftly, actual construction will begin months later. A six-month deadline has been set for the new contractor, with added scope for drains, service lanes, solar lighting and drainage - works inexplicably missing in the original plan.