(a) the details of pending National Highway (NH) projects in the States of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan;
(b) the details of NH projects completed during the last three years in these States;
(c) the details of NH projects which are held up in these States along with the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the progress of the said projects is hindered by the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic; and
(e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) & (b) The details of ongoing and completed National Highway (NH) projects in the States of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are at Table I and Table II respectively of Annex-I.
(c) The details of held up National Highway (NH) projects along with the reasons in these States are at Annex-II.
(d) & (e) Yes sir, the progress of projects was hindered initially due to lockdown in the country. However, several initiatives have been taken by the Government to sustain high rates of construction despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Atmanirbhar Bharat, efforts were initiated to extend all possible help to Contractors, Concessionaires and Developers of Road projects by way of granting Time Extensions (3 to 6 months), relaxations in Contract provisions for ensuring cash flow, direct payment to sub-contractors and release of retention/security money to augment cash flow of the Contractors, waiver of penalty in case of delay in submission of Performance Security (for new Contracts) to maintain the pace of construction. In addition to this, food and medical facilities were also provided to the site workers to discourage/minimize migration of labors. Digital mode of communication was expanded to have regular review meetings, coordination and monitoring of works with all executing agencies/stakeholders.