The Newz Radar
MANDI: In the ongoing Rs 18,000 crore Kiratpur-Manali four-lane project, insurance companies will compensate for the substantial damage caused at construction sites during the rain mayhem in July-August 2023. The compensation applies exclusively to locations where the project is not yet completed, while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been taking responsibility for losses in completed sections.
Varun Chari, NHAI Project Director, emphasises the mandatory nature of project insurance, making insurers accountable for disaster-related losses until project completion.
Talking to TNR, Varun said that companies engaged in ongoing construction operations had notified insurers, initiating the assessment of losses. “As the majority of Mandi district’s four-lane project is still under construction, insurance coverage will address incurred losses,” he said, adding that there was a Rs 100 crore loss in the completed Takoli-Kullu section of the highway.
Notably, the most damaged stretch in Mandi, from Mandi to Takoli, involves KMC Company, handling Nagchala-Pandoh and Shahpurji-Palonji stretches, while AFCONS manages the Pandoh Bypass to Takoli project, which has significant tunnel-related damage. The ongoing construction suggests potential delays in project completion due to the rain disaster.
The 197-km long Kiratpur-Manali national highway is arguably one of the biggest road construction projects in Himachal Pradesh, expected to be built at a cost of around Rs 18,000 crore. Its inauguration was pushed back when a 16-km stretch of it was damaged during the floods in July.
The Kiratpur-Nerchowk road stretch of the Kiratpur-Manali highway has been delayed due to a massive damage to the highway by the flooded Beas between Mandi and Manali. Around 16 km of the road stretch was damaged at different locations between Mandi and Manali, where construction work had been completed by the NHAI earlier.
The NHAI has directed the companies involved in the construction of the four-lane project to claim compensation from insurance companies for under-construction stretches while it is responsible for compensation them for completed works.
Adarsh Panhotra, team leader of Shahpurji-Palonji, when contacted, told TNR that they had intimated the insurance companies about the damages, and that the firms were verifying the losses and estimates for the same.
Raj Shekhar, project manager, KMC, said that the officials of the insurance companies concerned had been informed about the damages and they were expected to complete the formalities for compensation soon. The highway is part of a series of road construction works in the state to reduce the travel distance between Chandigarh and Manali. At least 37 bridges and 14 tunnels are being constructed on the highway.
