Target 20 KM a day: Progress only 9 KM a day

The 20 KM a day target for highway construction remains a distant dream for the central government with highway construction recording only 8.75 kM a day progress in construction in the current 2011-12 fiscal.

The NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) and the road transport ministry together have constructed about 1,315 km of highways in the current financial year till August 31, 2011. Road construction at this pace is an improvement from 8 KM a day constructed in 2010-11. Construction activity is badly hit during the monsoon months.

Highway construction in the last financial year was 2,920 KM, which was an improvement from 2,738 KM in 2009-10. The highway construction target for the current year has been set at 3,570 KM . For that  2,500 KM for NHAI and 1,070KM for the road transport ministry.

Of the target, the highways ministry has completed the constructed of 624 km and NHAI has been able to complete 690 km. NHAI constructs roads under the National Highways Development Programme, whereas the road transport ministry constructs roads through Border Roads Organisation and state public welfare departments.

NHAI has announced it will award 59 projects covering 7,994 km with a total cost of around Rs 60,000 crore and  much less compared to the target of 96 projects covering 12,000 KM worth Rs. 1,00,000 crore for the last financial year.

However, NHAI had earlier conveyed to the government that it would exceed the target and award projects worth 9,000 km in the current fiscal.

In the year  2009, UPA-II came to power and Kamal Nath was made the road transport minister. He had set a target to build 20 KM a day, increasing it from the earlier 6KM a day in 2008-09. During his tenure,kamal  Nath had come up with project plans for 2 financial years and had set a target of awarding a little over 200 projects worth Rs 2,00,000 crore.
Share:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Recent Posts

Featured Post

Coverton Insurance Broking - a one-stop solution for businesses and individuals seeking expert risk management

Coverton Insurance Broking Launches Comprehensive Insurance Broking Services to Simplify and Enhance Risk Management for Businesses and In...