Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

BAD ROADS: 12 PWD ENGG SUSPENDED

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com ▪

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended 12 engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) for laxity and negligence of duty in implementa­tion of BJP’s pre-poll promise to make all roads pothole free. Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who heads the PWD department, said three executive engineers, six assistant engineers and three additional engineers were suspended for poor performanc­e in achieving the target set by the state government.

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended 12 engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) for laxity and negligence of duty in implementa­tion of BJP’s pre-poll promise to make all roads pothole free.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who heads the PWD department, said three executive engineers, six assistant engineers and three additional engineers were suspended for poor performanc­e in achieving the target set by the state government.

Maurya said a department­al probe had been ordered against four superinten­dent engineers, 13 executive engineers and 16 additional engineers. Under pothole free roads plan, chief engineers and superinten­ding engineers were given responsibi­lity of verificati­on of 20 roads in all 75 districts. During verificati­on, works executed under the plan on 55 roads in 18 district were found below standard.

On December 30, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had openly expressed his annoyance over the laxity shown by officials in carrying out government orders, especially on making all roads pothole free. Yogi had set March 31 deadline for restoratio­n of all roads in the state and took to social media to warn officers of stern action if the deadline was not met.

In a series of tweets from the Government of UP handle, Yogi said there would be no compromise on the quality of work. Yogi’s tweets, however, were seen as a sign of his dissatisfa­ction with the PWD department headed by his deputy Maurya.

The UP CM had posted 11 tweets and in one of them lamented “ab bhi bahut si shikayatei­n aa rahi hain” (Many complaints are still pouring in). During review meetings, Yogi had expressed his displeasur­e with the functionin­g of over a dozen department­s, but in his tweets he had focused only on the PWD department.

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