Hyderabad: According to official data from the Union Ministry of Road and National Highways, the road network in the country exceeds 62,15,797 kilometres in total length. This includes 1,36,000 kilometres of national highways.
In terms of data, you may find these figures quite impressive but not in consonance with the size of the world’s 7th largest economy. India’s far-flung areas are still devoid of road connectivity.
One of the reasons for this is the non-completion of many road projects on time. Many projects in the country are hanging in the balance. They are being overrun. As a result, the project cost has gone up and the people are struggling to cope with these under-construction projects
Delayed road projects in states
According to the data available in the report of the Parliamentary Committee attached to the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, as many as 888 road projects under the Union Ministry are running late in the year 2020-21. In these projects, 27,665.3 km long roads are to be built using an amount of Rs 3,15,373.30 crore. These 888 road projects are running late in all states and union territories except Daman and Diu. Due to the delay in these projects, the time and money of the people are being wasted. Apart from this, the cost of the project is also increasing with each passing day.
Click below to know the state-wise road construction report:
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Questions and recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee
The Parliamentary Committee in its report has also raised questions regarding 888 road projects that are running late. According to the Parliamentary Committee, the concerned ministry should focus on completing the delayed projects rather than announcing new road projects in the country
The current Central government is taking up the expansion of highways on priority, but the number of projects running late is the biggest challenge for the government. The committee has recommended that to check the increase in the cost of these projects running late in the future, the government should give priority to their early completion.
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The Parliamentary Committee has also suggested the government raise more funds for this area. The Parliamentary Committee has expressed concern that even though the expenditure of NHAI is increasing, private sector investment has decreased in comparison to that during the financial year 2020-21. The committee has recommended that the Ministry of Road and Transport Highways should take concrete steps to encourage the private sector for their participation in road infrastructure projects in the country.
Projects did not progress even after years
Some projects in the country are hanging in the balance for a decade or more. The list of projects running late by five years or more is very long. Such projects are in almost every state, which is waiting for their completion. These projects were started a long time back, but even after years of a fixed time, the construction is not nearing its completion.
According to the report of the Parliamentary Committee, there are about 70 projects across the country which have been pending for five or more years.
As per reports, Assam’s Nalbari to Bijni project is running late by over 12 years. That means that this project should have been completed 12 years ago but it is still hanging in the balance. The original budget of this 27.3 km long project was Rs 208 crore, which has now reached Rs 230 crore.
The 40-km road from Nagpur to Kondhali in Maharashtra should also have been completed 12 years ago but its work has not been completed till now. The 80 km long road from Trichy to Karur in Tamil Nadu is also running late by 10 years. Its cost is Rs 571 crore.
The road from the Delhi border to Rohtak in Haryana was also to be completed 10 years ago. According to statistics, a maximum of 17 road projects is running late in the state of Chhattisgarh. These 17 projects are those which are running late by five to ten years.
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