73 construction companies declared defaulters in Bihar

Under attack from the Opposition for alleged tardy pace of construction of roads in Bihar, state's NDA government has put 73 construction companies involved in road construction in the state, into the list of defaulters after their failure to complete projects on time.

State Road construction Minister Prem Kumar, while confirming this, today said these companies ignored the repeated warnings by the state government to speed up the work and failed to meet the deadlines.

Now onward, these companies will not be allowed to participate in any tenders for road construction in Bihar, Kumar said.

According to official sources, the 73 companies were engaged in construction of all types of roads including rural and state highways in Bihar.

The State Road Department had communicated to other departments, including Water Resources, Building Construction, Rural Development and Bridge Construction, about its decision and submitted the list of defaulters.

Till April 2009, out of the total length of 2,035 km of state highways, about 1,288 km have not only been improved but also upgraded to double lane. Bihar is striving to be the first state in the country to have all its state highways upgraded to double-lane roads, a state road official asserted.