Nitin Gadkari-led Road Transport & Highways ministry is working on expediting national highways projects. The Ministry has set a target of awarding 25,000 km of road projects in this financial year. This, the Ministry says, is more than the total projects awarded in two years. In last two years, 18,000 km of road projects have been awarded. According to the Ministry, the Gross budgetary support for the central sector roads for this fiscal year is Rs 43,807 crore. Additionally, the NHAI has been allowed to raise internal and extra budgetary resources of Rs 59,279 crore, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways release said.
This information was relayed by Nitin Gadkari in the Parliament today. The Minister also said that he is working to expedite speedy implementation of road projects. “Today about 21.8 km of roads are being constructed in a day. By expediting implementation of road projects through more than 21 policy decisions of the Cabinet, most of the stalled projects worth more than 3 lakh crore are now back on track,” he said. The Ministry has said that its online approval system with Railway for Rail Over Bridge/Rail under Bridge has been helpful.
The government also highlighted several steps taken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to expedite construction of National Highways. These include: holding regular meetings with Ministry officials, Regional Officers, project developers, state governments, contractors, concessionaires /contractors to make the construction of projects hassle free. “To expedite completion of these projects various steps have been taken which include streamlining of land acquisition & environment clearances, exit for equity investors, premium re schedulement, close coordination with other Ministries, revamping of dispute resolution mechanism, frequent reviews at various levels etc,” the Ministry said.
