Bihar government on Friday suspended fifteen engineers in connection with the chain of recent bridge collapse incidents in the state. The decision was taken by the state government after a probe panel submitted its report to the Water Resources Department.
"It was found that engineers were negligent and monitoring was ineffective… that is the main reason behind the collapse of small bridges and causeways in the state," Additional Chief Secretary of WRD, Chaitanya Prasad, told news agency PTI.
The government has directed the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd to immediately provide budget estimates for the speedy construction of new bridges and approve the said work.
Besides this, new bridges will also be constructed in place of damaged bridges at the cost and risk of the working contractor.
An official statement by the Bihar government that was issued today said that the engineers involved did not exercise due precautions to ensure the safety of the bridges and culverts, and failed to provide adequate technical supervision as well. The government also pointed out at the negligence of the executing contractor.
Here's the list of suspended engineers:
Executive Engineers
1. Er. Amit Anand, Executive Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
2. Er. Kumar Brajesh, Executive Engineer, Water Drainage Division, Siwan
Assistant Engineers
1. Er. Rajkumar, Assistant Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
2. Er. Chandramohan Jha, Assistant Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
3. Er. Simran Anand, Assistant Engineer, Water Drainage Division, Siwan
4. Er. Neha Rani, Assistant Engineer, Water Drainage Division, Siwan
Junior Engineers
1. Md. Majid, Junior Engineer, Water Drainage Division, Siwan
2. Er. Ravi Kumar Rajneesh, Junior Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
3. Er. Rafiul Hoda Ansari, Junior Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
4. Er. Ratnesh Gautam, Junior Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
5. Er. Prabhat Ranjan, Junior Engineer, Flood Control Division, Siwan
In over the last two weeks, a total of at least 12 bridges have collapsed in Bihar across various districts including Siwan, Madhubani, Saran, East Champaran, Araria, and Kishanganj.
Engineers Suspended, FIR Regsitered, Action Against Contractors
On June 18, 2024, a culvert in Araria was damaged, a probe into which unearthed the negligence in the construction work by Er. Anjani Kumar, then Executive Engineer of the Rural Works Department, and current Executive Engineer Er. Ashutosh Kumar Ranjan. Apart from them, then Junior Engineer Virendra Prasad, current Junior Engineer Manish Kumar, have been suspended with immediate effect until further orders, the statement read.
"Actions are being taken to blacklist the contractor. Recovery of payments made to the contractor is being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the SBD, and all pending payments for the contractor's work have been stopped with immediate effect. Actions are also being taken against the related DPR consultant. All payments for previous work and any new work have been stopped with immediate effect," Bihar government said in its statement.
The government also mentioned that that after receiving the final investigation report and findings from the investigation team, actions will be taken against the guilty contractor under the Bihar Contractor Rules.
"The guilty officers will face the strictest actions concerning PMSSY-III work in the Ghoda Sahan block of East Champaran," the statement noted.
The bridge under construction that was damaged in the Ghoda Sahan area on June 23 was reportedly damanged by anti-social elements.
The governement said that an FIR was lodged at the Ghoda Sahan Police Station regarding the same, on the basis of which the local police are taking action.
On June 26, 2024, a girder of a bridge under construction in Madhubani collapsed. The governement has sought an explanation from the contractor in-charge.
"The contractor will construct a new girder at their own risk and cost to replace the damaged one," the statement said.
Why Are NDA Leaders Maintaining Stoic Silence?: Tejashwi Yadav
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav commented on the bridge collapse incidents and questioned why the leaders of the NDA-led Bihar government, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, were "maintaining a stoic silence."
"These incidents prove how corruption is rampant in the ruling dispensation. The portfolio of the RWD, which constructs most of the small bridges in the state, is always with JD(U) leaders. Who should be held responsible for this mess?" PTI quoted the former deputy CM as saying.