Parliament Question: Irregularities in Construction of Swami Vivekananda Setu built by DVC

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3303 ANSWERED ON 12.03.2026 IRREGULARITIES IN CONSTRUCTION OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA SETU BUILT BY DVC 3303. SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH CHOUDHARY: Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has received any complaint regarding violation of the Indian Railway Bridge Manual, Standard Construction Quality, Safety Guidelines and Labour Laws in the construction of Swami Vivekananda Setu (ROB), BTPS Bokaro (Jharkhand) built by Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the approved cost, tender price, revised cost, scheduled date of commencement and completion and actual completion date for the construction of the said bridge; (c) whether any third-party quality control, safety audit, track safety clearance, CRS approval and Design Basis Report (DBR) approval have been obtained for the said project and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the project was carried out by a contractor or sub-contractor and if so, the details of the companies involved and the total amount of payments made so far; and (e) whether the Government is considering a high-level independent inquiry/investigation by Special Investigation Team (SIT) or any other agency in this matter and if so, the details thereof? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK) (a) : Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has reported that it has received a complaint from the Hon’ble Member of Parliament from Giridih regarding alleged irregularities in the construction of Swami Vivekananda Setu (Rail Over Bridge), BTPS Bokaro, Jharkhand. The complaint was received vide letters dated 14.02.2026 and 25.02.2026 requesting a high-level inquiry into alleged violations of construction quality standards, safety guidelines and labour laws during the execution of the project. (b) : The approved project cost for the work titled “Construction of Bridge on River Konar along with its approach road including Rail Over Bridge (ROB) on Gomoh–Barkakana Railway Line at BTPS, DVC Bokaro” was Rs 149.30 crore. DVC engaged M/s RITES Ltd. (RITES) as Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the above work. RITES awarded the execution contract to M/s Supreme-BKB-DECO(JV) at Rs. 134.22 crore, the L-1 bidder and therefore, the project cost was revised to Rs 149.90 crore (including service tax, education cess and cost of publication of NIT). The project work commenced from 25.02.2015 and the scheduled date of completion was 24.02.2018. However, on request of RITES, extension of time (EOT) was granted up to 31.03.2026 for completing the remaining work. The entire work has been executed in three phases. In Phase-I, the portion of the bridge over river Konar along with its approach roads and Ramp-1 were completed and opened for traffic on 26.01.2020. In Phase-II, the Rail Over Bridge (ROB) over the Gomoh–Barkakana Railway Line has been completed on 27.02.2026 and in Phase- III, the work relating to Ramp-2 connecting the bridge to BTPS is to be completed. (c) : DVC has informed that third-party quality control and testing have been carried out by Birsa Institute of Technology (BIT) Sindri, Jharkhand; Certification Engineers International Ltd. (CEIL) and Research Design & Standards Organization (RDSO), Lucknow. Approval for launching of girders was issued by East Central Railway (ECR). ECR also accorded approval to the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) after verification of track clearances and compliance with the Schedule of Dimensions (SOD) and other applicable railway standards. The inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is not mandated as per extant Railway guidelines governing ROB work of similar nature. The Design Report has been approved by National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna. (d) : DVC engaged M/s RITES Ltd. (RITES) as Project Management Consultant (PMC) who awarded the contract for execution of the work to M/s Supreme–BKB– DECO (JV). The total payment made so far to the contractor for the project is Rs 144.00 crore. (e) : At present, no inquiry or investigation in the matter is under consideration. ***********