The final action against erring contractors and officials responsible for the collapse of the Silkyara tunnel will be taken based on the recommendations of the committee of experts, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

A total of 41 workers were trapped after a portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on November 12, 2023. The workers were rescued on November 28.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said show cause notices have been issued to the contractor and the consultant looking after the supervision of construction of Silkyara-Barkot tunnel by the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

"The final action against the erring contractors/company and officials responsible for the collapse to be taken based on the final recommendations of the committee of experts," Gadkari said.

A Committee of Experts has been constituted by the government for investigation of the reasons for collapse of the Silkyara Tunnel on NH-134 in Uttarakhand. The committee submitted its preliminary report to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on December 22, 2023.

As financial support, the minister informed that each worker trapped inside the tunnel has been paid a sum of Rs 2 lakh in addition to 2 months bonus and salary by the contractor.

In addition to the above, the Uttarakhand government has also provided financial support of Rs 1 lakh each to all trapped workers.

Under the directions of the Supreme Court of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has constituted a High Powered Committee comprising representatives from various reputed institutes.

The committee comprises representatives from institutes like Physical Research Laboratory, Wildlife Institute of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Central Soil Conservation Research Institute, National Institute of Disaster Management, Forest Research Institute, MoEF&CC officials, etc., with mandate to consider the cumulative and independent impact of Chardham Projects on the entire Himalayan Valleys and give directions to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)/Rapid EIA.

NHIDCL is constructing the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel through Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.

It is a single-tube tunnel divided into two inter-connected corridors by a partition wall. Each inter-connector corridor can work as an escape passage for the other.

The 4.5 kilometre-long tunnel project in Uttarakhand, which is part of the Centre's 900 kilometre-Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road, aims to improve connectivity to the four pilgrimage sites.

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