Digital
Desk: The
Central Bureau of Investigation launched a multi-city raid on Monday in
response to alleged irregularities in the National Highway Road Project.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a multi-city raid in Assam on Monday in connection with alleged irregularities in the National Highway Road Project. According to the CBI, the raids were conducted in Shillong, Guwahati, Gurugram, and Bengaluru. Personnel from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and GR Infra Projects have been detained by the central agency. The CBI charged NHAI officials and a consortium of private construction companies with 22 counts of corruption in three highway segments from 2008 to 2010. The action followed the conclusion of a preliminary investigation launched in 2018.
According to officials, the investigation report alleged
corruption in the Surat-Hazira section of National Highway-6, the
Kishangarh-Ajmer-Beawar section of National Highway-8, and the
Varanasi-Aurangabad section of National Highway-2 awarded to Isolux Corsan
India Engineering and Construction Private Limited (now in liquidation) and
Soma Enterprises. According to the investigation's findings, senior NHAI
officials routinely collected Rs 1 lakh in cash on a monthly basis to ensure
the smooth execution of the Surat-Hazira port section project.
The National Roadways
Development Project (NHDP) is an Indian highway improvement, reconstruction,
and widening project. The project is overseen by the National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI), which is part of the Ministry of Road, Transport,
and Highways. In order to support the country's economic development, the NHDP
calls for the construction of 49,260 kilometres of roads and highways.
