Assam: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has decided to change the contractor responsible for the construction of the Jorhat-Majuli bridge over the Brahmaputra river in Assam. The decision was taken during a meeting in New Delhi with all stakeholders, after progress on the project had been halted for months since September. According to reports, an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed that the process of selecting a new contractor will be initiated on a priority basis.
In a post on X, the CMO said, “Today a meeting was held with all stakeholders regarding the construction of the bridge connecting Majuli and Jorhat at @MORTHIndia in New Delhi.” The CMO said that failure to meet the agreed deadlines would result in the forfeiture of the performance guarantee of the current contractor. Construction had been halted since September 5, and the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, UP State Bridge Corporation Limited, had left the site. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a letter to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, expressed concern over the delay in the timely completion of the Rs 650 crore project, crucial for the connectivity and economic development of Majuli. He urged the ministry to resume work without affecting the targeted completion by December 2025. The two-lane bridge, allotted in August 2021, is a crucial infrastructure project connecting Majuli on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra river with Jorhat on the southern bank.
