(Railways) in WPPIL No.26/2022, Mr. Dhiraj Kumar
Wankhede, learned counsel for the NHAI, Ms. Deepa
Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of Mr.
Sandeep Dubey, learned counsel for respondents No. 7
and 8 in WPPIL No.127/2021, Mr. Vikram Usendi,
learned counsel appearing on behalf of Mr. Ishan
Verma, learned counsel for respondent No.9 in WPPIL
No.26/2022, Mr. Pankaj Agrawal, learned counsel for
the respondents No.7 & 12 in WPPIL No.26/2022.
In compliance of the Court's order dated
11.02.2026, the Deputy Secretary, Government of
Chhattisgarh, Department of Public Works, Mantralaya,
Mahanadi Bhawan, Nawa Raipur, District Raipur, C.G.
has filed his personal affidavit on 18.03.2026, the
relevant portion of the same is reproduced hereinbelow:
"2. That the present affidavit is being filed in
compliance of the order dated 11.02.2026
passed by this Hon'ble Court in WPPIL No.
127/2021 (In Re: Roads of Chhattisgarh vs.
State of Chhattisgarh & Others) along with
WPPIL No. 26/2022 and WPPIL No.
83/2023, whereby this Hon'ble Court had
directed the State to file affidavit and in
pursuance thereto, an affidavit dated
10.02.2026 was filed by the Secretary,
Department of Public Works, Government
of Chhattisgarh.
3 That, the Hon'ble Court was pleased to
take into its kind consideration the contents
of the affidavit. However, the Hon'ble Court
had made an observation that, the budget
allocation of Rs. 4937.39 lakhs for
strengthening and repairing of Pendridih
Chowk to Nehru Chowk Road, Bilaspur, the
fund has yet not been allocated to the State
Government. The Hon'ble Court had also
made an observation regarding the
conditions of the road and necessary steps
for effective repair with respect to the report
dated 27/11/2025 submitted by the learned
Amicus Curiae.
4. It is most respectfully submitted that, with
respect to the budget allocation of Rs.
4079.00 lakhs, the said amount has been
allocated to the State Government for the
necessary purpose of repair and
strengthening Pendridih Chowk to Nehru
Chowk Road, Administrative sanction has
been granted and proceedings have
already been initiated for technical sanction
by the competent authority. The relevant
documents in this regard is annexed
herewith as ANNEXURE A-1, for the kind
perusal of the Hon'ble Court.
5. Mr. the 5. It is respectfully submitted that,
with respect to the report submitted by
Prateek Sharma, dated 27/11/2025,
following informations/submissions are
placed before the Hon'ble Court for kind
appreciation:-
(A) With respect to the road from
Seepat to Baloda, it is respectfully
submitted that bids were invited and
in pursuance to the same, financial
bid have also been opened and M/s
Sanjay Kumar Kedia has been
declared L1. The matter has been
forwarded to the tender committee of
the State Government & as soon as
sanction is obtained, work order
would be issued. Document in this
regard is annexed herewith as
ANNEXURE A-2.
(B) With respect to the roads from
Jashpur to Ambikapur, the Ambikapur
Highway Bridge after Katghora, the
road from Ambedkar Chowk to
Ambikapur Railway Station at
Ambikapur, the road from Bharat
Mata Chowk to Luchki Ghat, the road
from Ramanujganj Chowk to Shankar
Ghat, are all under National Highway
and necessary steps can be initiated
by National Highway Authority of India
in this regard.
6. That, with respect to the road from
Mopka to Sendri bypass, it is respectfully
submitted that, the said project has already
been sanctioned and tender proceedings
would be initiated shortly. A detail in this
regard being placed as ANNEXURE A-3
for kind perusal of the Hon'ble Court.
7. It is respectfully submitted that, with
respect to the road from Shrikant Verma
Chowk to CMD Chowk Bilaspur, it is
respectfully submitted that, the
administrative sanction has been obtained
on 03/02/2026. Copy of the administrative
sanction dated 03/02/2026 is hereby
marked and annexed herewith as
ANNEXURE A-4.
8. With respect to road from Tarbahar
Chowk to Shiv Talkies Chowk, work has
been completed, whereas road from
Mannu Chowk to Jagmal Chowk falls
within the authority of the Municipal
Corporation Bilaspur.
9. It is submitted that, with respect to the
road from Ashok Nagar Chowk to Birkona
Chowk, as the patch of road falls within the
jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation
Bilaspur, the same is being taken care of
by the Corporation by undertaking repair
works.
10. The road from Mangla Chowk to
Deedayal Upadhyay Nagar, it is
respectfully submitted that, the widening
works and other ancillary works are being
carred out by the Municipal Corporation
Bilaspur.
11. With respect to the road from Gandhi
Chowk to Mahamaya Mandir Ambikapur, it
is submitted that, a part of the said road,
which falls under National Highway needs
repair. However, the remaining part upto
Mahamaya Mandir, which is under PWD
has been repaired and is in good
condition.
12. That, the road from Ambedkar Chowk
to Chatirma, which is under PWD is in
good condition.
13. That, the work order of road from
Narayanpur to Bhatapara has been issued,
copy of the said work order dated
09/03/2026 is hereby marked and annexed
herewith as ANNEXURE A-5.
14. That, the deponent tenders his highest
regard and respect for this Hon'ble Court
and humbly assures that all directions,
orders and observations issued by this
Hon'ble Court shall be complied with
promptly, faithfully and in their true letter
and spirit.
Pursuant to the Court's order dated 11.02.2026 an
affidavit has also been filed by the authority concerned
of NHAI, the relevant portion of which reads as under:
"3. That, in compliance of the order
dated 11.02.2026, the Deponent is
submitting its response on para 04 of the
report dated 27.11.2025 via present
affidavit.
4. That, it is submitted that previously,
the section from Km 88,700 to Km
90.700, which spans a length of 2.0 km,
was not constructed due to land
hindrances in Jurali village, located in
the Korba district due to which the road
users have to take existing old Katghora
road which is around 10 Kms in lieu of
direct connectivity to NH-130 highway
through 8 Km NH highway under
construction after clearance of
hindrance. This involved 2.0 km of
hindered land, which was resolved
through arbitration in August 2025
through Court Commissioner/Arbitrator
order dated 04.04.2025, 29.08.2025.
Copy of relevant documents are marked
herewith as ANNEXURE A (colly).
5. Subsequently, fresh tenders were
called at RO-Raipur for the execution of
the remaining highway works in Jurali
village, including the approach to the
Katghora major bridge location at Km
90.800. Following the finalization of the
tender, a Letter of Acceptance (LOA)
was issued to M/s Kanhaiya Lal Agrawal,
vide RO-Raipur letter no. 11472 dated
23.12.2025, with a contract price of
20.13 Cr. The works in the stated section
resumed in January 2026, and currently,
the highway works including approach to
the Katghora major bridge in the
hindered stretch are in progress at the
site. Upon completion, this NH-130
section will be connected via a 4-lane
highway through the major bridge at
Katghora. The construction activities are
at an advanced stage on-site and are
anticipated to be finalized before the
onset of the monsoon. Copy of progress
report of work carried out in Jurali village
is marked herewith as ANNEXURE B.
6. It is also important to note that the
Katghora to Darrighat section of NH-
149B is under the jurisdiction of NHAI.
The section from Katghora (Jenjra) to
Gopalpur, which spans 8.55 Km and
connects Korba with Katghora via the
existing NH-1498 national highway, is
currently undergoing maintenance for
which NHAI RO-Raipur has initiated
repair and rectification work by issuing a
tender and subsequently awarding a
contract for 22.48 Cr. for the rectification,
strengthening, and overlay of this 8.55
Km highway section. The construction
and strengthening efforts are at an
advanced stage on-site and are
expected to be completed before the
monsoon. Furthermore, all necessary
measures are being implemented at the
site to ensure smooth and safe traffic
flow through this Gopalpur-Jenjra
section of NH-1498 by NHAI. Copy of
Progress report of work relating to
Katghora (Jenjra) to Gopalpur section is
marked herewith as ANNEXURE C.
7. That, it is humbly submitted that all
the effective measures and actions have
been taken by all the PIUs under
Regional Office, Raipur (C.G.) with the
clasped hand. The action taken reports
indicates that all the PIUs are jointly
taking all the quintessential steps to
reduce accidents and safeguard the
lives of commuters on NH."
This Court, upon consideration of the affidavit and
the status of road works placed on record, observed
that although certain steps have been taken by the
State, and the NHAI has effectively resumed and is
progressing with construction and maintenance works
on NH-130 and NH-149B, necessary safety measures
are being implemented, and the concerned authorities
are taking steps to ensure commuter safety, while
emphasizing the need for continuous monitoring and
timely completion of all ongoing works.
Let the matter be again listed for further
monitoring on 5th May, 2026, by which date the
Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh, Department of
Public Works, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Nawa
Raipur, District Raipur, C.G. shall file fresh affidavit with
respect to further developments.
In the meantime, the authority concerned of NHAI,
shall also file his personal affidavit with respect to
progress of work in the aforesaid matter.
Sd/- Sd/-
(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha)
Judge Chief Justice
Alok
