Apple and Vegetable Season Hit by Crumbling Highway: Criminal Negligence Complaint Filed Against NHAI, GR Infra
SHIMLA / PARWANOO, 30 June 2025:
At a time when Himachal’s fruit and vegetable season is peaking, a formal criminal complaint has been filed against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and G R Infraprojects Ltd for endangering lives, livelihoods, and the economy — all allegedly due to corruption, botched planning, and reckless execution of the Parwanoo-Solan four-lane highway.
Tikender Singh Panwar, a prominent citizen and former deputy mayor of Shimla, lodged Complaint No. 12254025072300011 on July 27, 2023, at Parwanoo police station in district Solan.
In his complaint, Panwar accused NHAI officials based at Chakkar Office, Shimla, and GR Infra — with its corporate headquarters in Gurugram — of “criminal neglect” in constructing the highway.
“They’ve scarred the hills with vertical cuts instead of slope-wise excavation. It's not just bad engineering — it’s a recipe for recurring disaster,” Panwar alleged, pointing out that slips, landslides and road closures have now become routine since the start of the highway project.
With trucks carrying apples, vegetables, and flowers stranded or diverted due to road damage and instability, farmers in the state are staring at heavy losses. “It’s not just roads collapsing — it’s the collapse of rural livelihoods,” a farmer leader in Kasauli fumed.
The complaint also raised a critical question: Did NHAI even consult the Geological Department? Or was the geological report ignored or doctored for profit? Panwar called for both agencies to be booked under criminal sections, stressing that the pattern of damages every monsoon points to deep-rooted connivance between officials and contractors.
Adding to the woes, the notorious Chakki Morh stretch remains a bottleneck. Two years after it caved in, NHAI has failed to stabilize it. A journey that once took 30 minutes from Chakki Morh to Parwanoo now stretches beyond two painful hours, especially for trucks and tourists caught in the jammed highway.
Locals say the project was meant to connect — but it has disconnected them from markets, health services, and safety. “This four-lane is four lanes of fear,” a resident of Dharampur quipped.
With the apple harvest underway, the pressure is now on the government to investigate these allegations and ensure safe, all-weather connectivity — before another monsoon tragedy strikes.
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