Kolhapur: Kolhapur-based Rajya Sabha MP Dhananjay Mahadik from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, to blacklist the contractor responsible for the stalled works on the Satara to Kagal stretch on Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway Number 4 (NH 4). The highway expansion project is causing severe traffic congestion, and citing this, MP Mahadik demanded that toll collection be suspended until the road is brought into good condition.
The demand was made during a review meeting held on Friday in New Delhi, focusing on the significantly delayed and poor state of the highway.
The Pune-Kolhapur section of NH4, particularly the stretch between Satara and Kagal in Kolhapur District, has become a nightmare for commuters due to extensive potholes and frequent, poorly managed diversions, which severely increase travel time. MP Mahadik highlighted the severe difficulties faced by motorists and demanded strict action against the contractor, who has shown extremely slow progress on the six-laning project that has been underway for two years.
The MP specifically requested that the current contractor be immediately terminated and the project be handed over to a new, capable firm to ensure quality and timely completion. He stressed that toll collection must cease until the highway work is finished to a high standard.
Union Minister Gadkari, addressing the serious concerns, informed the meeting that action has already been initiated against the contractor for completing only 2% of the work in the last six months. Minister Gadkari also assured MP Mahadik that appropriate steps would be taken regarding his demands for blacklisting the contractor and suspending the toll collection. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) alongside MP Mahadik.
