Work on the 6.5 Km Z-Morh tunnel near Gagangeer on Srinagar-Leh highway has come to a halt as the executing agency has allegedly failed to clear the dues of the construction company engaged by the agency, an official told Greater Kashmir.
He said, “For the past one week no activity has taken place. The work has come to a halt due to some financial constraints as the executing agency Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has failed to release the payment in favour of APCO Infratech pvt limited.”
“IL&FS has failed to release our dues due to which we have suspended work,” said an official of APCO construction company.
An official of the ILFS company admitted that there were some “financial constraints” due to which there was a delay in releasing the payments. “The APCO stopped work on their own without any intimation,” the official added.
A source said that the IL&FS has now tied up with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) which is likely to invest more into the company to defuse the “financial crunch” being faced by the IL&FS.
A New Delhi based official of APCO constructions told this newspaper that there were some issues and these will be sorted out in a few days. “The work will restart soon,” he added.
The work on this vital tunnel commenced in May 2015 and it’s to be completed in five years.