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Despite steady acceleration
in the pace of awarding
national highway projects
since the last two years, the
Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways is still far from achieving
its ambitious target of building
20 km of roads per day.
In 2011-12, the National Highways
Authority of India, the nodal
agency for development of national
highways, constructed a total of
2,248 km of roads as against a target
of 2,500 km. During the same
period, the length of national
highways constructed by the Border
Roads Organisation and state
public works departments measured
1,547 km.
The combined length of national
highways built by NHAI as well as
BRO and state PWDs during the
last financial year translates to an
average construction rate of 10.39
km per day. The Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways aims to
construct 20 km of roads per day
by 2014. In order to achieve the
20-km per day construction target,
it is imperative that around
7,300 km of projects get awarded
annually and at any given point of
time, projects measuring 20,000
km in length are under construction.
Highway projects have a
gestation period of around three
years from the date of commencement
of work.
During the period 2007-08 to
2009-10, the NHAI managed to
award projects measuring just
5,237 km in length. In 2010-11,
the pace of awarding projects
picked up considerably. Projects
measuring 5,059 km in length
were awarded during this period.
The length of projects awarded
during the last financial year
totalled 6,491 km.
In the current year, the NHAI is
targeting to award projects measuring
8,800 km. in length.
The Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways attributes the slow
pace of highway construction to
various factors. These include
lower quantum of projects awarded
in previous years, delays in
obtaining environmental and
other clearances, land acquisition
hurdles, poor performance by
some contractors, and law and
order problems in certain states.
A source closely associated with
the highway sector told Projectmonitor
that it would be an uphill
task for NHAI to achieve the target
of building 20 km of roads per
day by 2014.
"The pace of highway construction
cannot be accelerated any
further till the time the Centre
frames a uniform policy for
dealing with issues such as land
acquisition, obtaining environmental
and other clearances
and shifting of utilities,” the
source said.
“All highway projects should
be granted approval under a single
window clearance system.
Such a measure would go a long
way in expediting the pace of
highway construction in the country,"
he added.
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