HC pulls up authorities over poor condition of Hindustan-Tibet Border Road

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court has expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of the Hindustan-Tibet Border Road passing through Shimla and Kinnaur districts and sought accountability from the state public works department (PWD) officers and contractors responsible for its maintenance.The division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi observed that a temporary patchwork on the damaged highway would barely suffice during the upcoming monsoon season.The state govt cited adverse weather conditions and a shortage of bitumen —attributed to the US-Iran war — as possible reasons for the delay in permanent restoration work. At present, temporary patchwork is being carried out on a 55-kilometre stretch of the highway, while work on another 14 kilometres remains incomplete.During the hearing, Surender Pal Jagota, engineer-in-chief (projects), state public works department, appeared in person along with the national highway division official Ajay Kapoor.An affidavit filed before the court admitted that the crucial road stretch connecting the apple-producing areas of Shimla and the hydroelectric project regions of Kinnaur suffered extensive damage."It is a standard practice of this department (PWD) to start work just before the start of the rains and pass on the responsibilities to the weather conditions," the bench noted.The court made it clear that even if funds were received and work started, it would only commence before the monsoon begins, and the work would be suspended during the monsoon season.The work should be restarted only after the rains come to an end in September to ensure that there is no misappropriation of the funds that are likely to be received from the central govt, observed the court.The road from Dhalli to Narkanda was resurfaced with bituminous concrete between 2021 and 2024, but it was damaged due to heavy monsoon rains in 2023 and 2025, noted the court.The affidavit further revealed that maintenance during the defect liability period was the responsibility of contractors – M/s Ganpati Traders and M/s DCC Buildcon Private Limited. However, the contractors allegedly failed to undertake adequate repair work despite contractual obligations. The termination clauses were invoked, contracts terminated, and penalties imposed on the firms.The bench directed the PWD to file a detailed affidavit, submitting the information as it was imperative to find out the lack of responsibility on account of not having maintained the premium highway.The bench also took note of a proposal worth Rs 86 crore submitted to the Union ministry of road transport and highways for strengthening the highway and directed the central govt to ensure that necessary sanctions were made.The PWD officials have been directed to remain present in the court again on the next hearing.MSID:: 131278088 413 |