Eight years and counting – yet the much-hyped Jammu-Akhnoor four-laning project stands as a grim symbol of bureaucratic inertia, mismanagement, and the widening gap between announcement and execution. Conceived as a flagship development under the PMDP and sanctioned in 2015, the 26-kilometre road was meant to be completed within two years. Instead, as 2025 approaches, the project continues to crawl, with even basic work on bridges and service lanes unfinished. The Rs 917-crore project, of which Rs 194 crore was allotted for the 20.35 km stretch from Muthi to Khati Chowk, was entrusted to the NHIDCL. In turn, the agency awarded the work to a Mumbai-based firm, M/s Tarmat Infra Ltd, which promptly sublet it to several smaller contractors-many without requisite experience in building highways to national standards. What followed is a predictable tale of delay, poor quality, and administrative indifference.
Even after eight years, bridges remain incomplete, drains half-built, and the road surface riddled with bumps and potholes. The highway, meant to ease traffic between Jammu and border districts like Akhnoor, Rajouri, and Poonch, has instead become a daily ordeal for commuters and patients. Ambulances jolt over uneven surfaces, dust clouds choke the air, and road safety norms are openly violated. The NHIDCL’s supervision of the project has been nothing short of negligent. Repeated extensions were granted to the contractor despite consistent underperformance. While the company blames NHIDCL for delayed payments and land acquisition issues, the fact remains that the agency failed to enforce contractual clauses, ensure adequate manpower, or penalise delays effectively. The practice of subletting work to local contractors, some of whom further subcontracted portions, has diluted accountability. Adding insult to injury, the project cost has escalated from Rs 193.99 crore to over Rs 215 crore, with additional escalation expected to push it beyond Rs 250 crore. The change in bridge designs and the lack of coordination with the J&K Irrigation Department are cited as reasons. But these are not unforeseen technical challenges; they are management failures that should have been addressed during the planning stage.
The environmental cost, too, has been steep. Large-scale tree felling, unchecked dust from construction, noise pollution, and improper disposal of debris have degraded the living conditions of residents along the highway. Flood channels have been blocked, and drainage systems remain incomplete, posing serious risks during the monsoon. Yet, neither the NHIDCL nor the local administration has taken concrete steps to mitigate the damage. The absence of even basic dust-control measures like water sprinkling or covering of material heaps speaks volumes about the lack of concern for public health.
For a project of strategic importance – connecting forward areas vital for military movement and regional trade – this level of neglect is alarming. When ordinary drivers are challenged for minor violations, how is it that contractors and agencies responsible for gross breaches of national highway norms escape accountability? It is not enough for NHIDCL officials to issue routine statements about “90 per cent of the work being done.” Ninety percent completion means little when the remaining 10 percent includes critical structures like bridges and drainage. The agency’s assurance that the road’s bumpy surface will “settle down with traffic” reflects a disturbing casualness toward engineering standards and public safety.
The Jammu-Akhnoor four-lane project is a test case for governance credibility. The administration must now move beyond token reviews and act decisively. Contractors who failed to deliver must face penalties or blacklisting, and NHIDCL officials responsible for lax supervision must be held accountable. Infrastructure development is not merely about laying asphalt – it is about reliability, accountability, and respect for public welfare. The endless delays, inflated costs, and substandard work on the project expose a systemic failure that can no longer be excused by procedural wrangles or design disputes. The people of Jammu deserve a safe, smooth, and functional highway – not another cycle of false promises and shifting deadlines. It is time for the administration to reclaim control and enforce accountability. The road to Akhnoor must no longer be a road of broken promises.
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