MP: Flawed DPRs made without site visit, but with Google help: Gadkari

Bhopal: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday expressed serious concern over the ‘flawed’ detail project reports (DPRs) made by engineers in some cases for construction of highways and bridges, saying that “It seems such faulty DPRs are made (by engineers) without visiting the proposed sites, but with the help of Google”.

Inaugurating the two-day seminar on “Emerging trends and technologies in road and bridge construction and EPC contract execution”, organised by Indian Road Congress (IRC) in collaboration with the state public works department (PWD), Mr Gadkari said he often found some faulty DPRs ‘atrocious’.

“The engineers who make such DPRs should be honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards”, he remarked while taking dig at such engineers.

Mr Gadkari narrated his experience about such a faulty DPR to justify his harsh remarks against the engineers who make such DPRs without even visiting the project sites.

The Union minister said that he had found three huge towers standing on the Bengaluru-Chennai expressway while monitoring the project from a chopper.

A senior officer, an IITian, accompanying him in the chopper had conceded that the fault lay in the DPR made for the expressway project.

“It would cost around Rs 400 crore to remove the towers from the expressway. The expressway could have been planned in the DPR in a way to avoid the towers and save the unnecessary expenditure”, Mr Gadkari said.

He also cited lack of coordination between different government departments while planning construction of bridges.

In some cases it was seen that the railway plans construction of a bridge at one place, the Union government plans a bridge at the same place and even some three- four other government agencies plan a bridge each at the same place, he said, referring to replication of works by different departments.

Mr Gadkari also stressed the need for construction of green highways by planting roadside trees which generate the most oxygen.

He said that his department has planted 70,000 trees along the national highways to turn them into green highways.

Chief minister Mohan Yadav also spoke on the occasion.