The bridge over Harmu rivulet connecting Harmu Housing Colony with Vidyanagar residential locality, built at a cost of Rs 2.85 crore, is lying almost unused for over the past two-and-a-half years as there is no concrete approach road from Vidyanagar.

A visit on Saturday afternoon to the site of the bridge, a 90-metre-long and 10-metre-wide structure built by the rural department, plainly showed that the purpose for which it had been built at the special behest of chief minister Raghubar Das in January 2017 had not been achieved.

An informal enquiry by the paper revealed the rural department had not factored in the need for an approach road before building the bridge.

Landowners had not been approached. Currently, Ranchi Municipal Corporation and urban development officials are not sure who will bell the landowners.

A locality resident, Santosh Sharma, said that in 2015, chief minister Das come to Vidyanagar to lay the foundation stone for the Harmu rejuvenation project when residents had demanded a bridge to connect Vidyanagar, with a 15,000-plus population, with one of the capital’s largest residential areas, Harmu Housing Colony.

“The CM immediately said yes. By January 2017, the bridge was ready. From the end of the Harmu Housing Colony, an approach road was built. But no similar approach road was built from the Vidyanagar side,” Sharma said.

The entire bridge area, which had been under ward 37 of Ranchi Municipal Corporation at the time of construction, is now under ward 26, Harmu side, and ward 34, Vidyanagar side, following delimitation last year before the civic body election.

Contacted, ward 34 councillor Binod Singh said construction of the approach road was held up over land.

“A plot of eight decimal is required to build the approach road. Two tribal persons own the land we need, and they are not ready to part with the land without compensation. Hence the delay,” the councillor said.

When this reporter contacted one of the landowners, Ram Oraon justified his stand. “Ideally, the rural development department should have contacted me before starting the bridge project which requires my land for the approach road. But it did not happen. No notice was served for land acquisition. I have no agenda to create any hurdle in a public project but I obviously want proper compensation for my land. How can I spare my land for an approach road for free,” Oraon, who had also had put up a boundary wall around this land in February 2017 to prevent any attempt to build an approach road without his consent, said.

RMC mayor Asha Lakra expressed her helplessness to sort out the issue.

“We can construct an approach road but not on other people’s land. And, work to acquire land can only be done by the district administration through a proper process,” Lakra said.

However, Amit Kumar, director of state urban development agency, a wing of the urban development department, which will build the approach road, said the proposal to acquire land needed to come from Ranchi Municipal Corporation.

“The initiative can be taken in this matter only when civic body gives a proposal. So far, we have not received it,” Kumar said.