Chapter 46 – Laying the First Stones
May 1984 – Singh Infrastructure Regional Headquarters, Lucknow
The fan overhead creaked in slow circles as Ajay Singh sat with his chief manager and legal advisor inside the freshly painted office of Singh Infrastructure's first branch. Outside, the air was dusty with early summer haze. The scent of freshly cut bricks mixed with the diesel smoke of passing trucks, while young engineers ran between piles of survey equipment and rolled-up maps.
Ajay rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked out the window.
> "We've trained. We've prepared. Now it's time to begin—with something small. No rush, no show. Just one good road."
The chief manager, Mr. Harbhajan Lal, nodded, flipping through a file.
> "Sir, we've shortlisted three rural roads. Around 6 to 10 kilometers each. Low terrain complexity. Good for practice."
Ajay leaned back in his chair.
> "Good. We'll treat it like a learning ground. Design team, execution team, material logistics—all of them must function together. Let's watch and learn."
---
A Measured First Step
The team chose a quiet stretch near the village of Bahrauli, just outside Lucknow—flat land, high need, minimal traffic. Perfect to begin.
Field engineers measured and marked the ground, while students and interns observed silently, some scribbling notes on structural angles and soil readings. A group of three young interns murmured among themselves:
> "I've never seen a real site before," one said, voice low with awe.
"I just hope we don't mess anything up," another added, grinning nervously.
In the equipment yard nearby, a technician cleaned the rollers of a newly designed mini-tar spreader, one that Bharat had helped modify to spread more evenly and waste less bitumen.
The workers began early—before the sun climbed high. The mix of gravel, lime, and coconut fiber filled the air with the earthy scent of construction. For villagers watching nearby, it was a rare sight: a government-tendered road project without loud shouting or bribes exchanged in public view.
---
The Bureaucratic Wall
Just as progress began to take shape, the first signs of resistance emerged.
One morning, a delivery truck loaded with steel mesh for drainage covers arrived late—almost two days behind schedule.
Ajay's logistics officer frowned. "We had this cleared a week ago. What happened?"
The driver looked uneasy. "Sir… someone at the checkpost said there's a missing document. I had to wait."
That same week, a routine application for cement allocation was returned from the State Works Department with a red stamp: "Incomplete – resubmit."
Ajay examined it carefully in his office. The forms were perfect.
> "This isn't a mistake," he said calmly to Mr. Harbhajan. "This is a message."
---
Whispers of Jealousy
In Lucknow's contractor circles, murmurs had started to grow louder. Some small-time tender holders and corrupt agents realized that Singh Infrastructure wasn't just a newcomer—it was a threat.
At a tea stall near the PWD office, two men whispered:
> "Yeh Singh log aise kaam kar rahe hain jaise desh badal denge."
(These Singh people are working like they want to change the whole country.)
> "No kickbacks, no delay—if they win more bids, hum sabka dhanda band ho jayega."
(If they win more bids, all our business will collapse.)
Ajay was aware of it. Not afraid—but aware.
> "They won't block us directly," he told his team. "They'll do what they always do—hide behind missing approvals, slow-moving files, unclear clauses."
---
Preparing for the Big Bids
Back at the headquarters, the design team gathered to begin preparing for larger projects—state roads, minor bridges, even early planning for national highways.
Draft tables were cluttered with stencils, rulers, blueprints, and ink-smeared hands. Bharat stood behind a young designer as she worked.
> "This curve—make it wider," he said, pointing to a sharp bend. "Heavy trucks don't turn like bicycles."
The designer nodded. "You think this will be reviewed well?"
> "It doesn't matter what they say first," Bharat replied. "It matters what they can't deny."
The bidding team, meanwhile, created a rotating schedule to monitor new government tenders. A senior accountant remarked:
> "Even if our cost is lower and quality higher, we still need perfect documentation—every comma, every stamp."
Ajay added a new rule:
> "Every project bid we send out must pass through a triple-check system: design, legal, and cost analysis. No chances."
---
Slow, Steady, Honest
By end of May, the first 6-km stretch near Bahrauli neared completion. It wasn't grand, but it was even, strong, and ahead of schedule.
Villagers walked barefoot on the new road, marveling at the lack of potholes. A boy kicked a stone and it rolled smooth across the fresh blacktop—no sudden dips or cracks to swallow it.
The Singh team had learned not just how to build, but how to work within a system designed to resist change.
Ajay looked at the stretch one evening and whispered:
> "One honest road at a time."
--.