(a) the percentage of works of development of roads completed so far in the Tenth Five Year Plan;
(b) whether there has been delay, if any, in construction of roads; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and the steps being taken by the NHAI for their speedy construction?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS(SHRI. K. H. MUNIYAPPA)
(a) The details of the percentage of work of development of road projects completed in the Tenth Five Year Plan period are at Annexure-I.
(b) There have been delays in the completion of some of the development schemes due to Land Acquisition, shifting of utilities, poor performance of contractors etc.
(c) The NHDP Phase-I mainly consists of Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), which was originally scheduled for completion by December, 2004 is likely to be completed only 92% by December, 2005. NHDP Phase-II which mainly comprises North-South & East-West (NS-EW) Corridors is likely to be completed by the year 2008 against the original targeted year 2009, which was advanced to 2007.
The following steps are being taken by NHAI, for speedy construction of roads;
i) The contracts are regularly monitored at various levels, such as by Independent Engineer, Project Director, NHAI Headquarters and by the Ministry.
ii) State Governments have appointed senior officers as Nodal Officers for resolving problems associated with the implementation of NHDP such as Land Acquisition, shifting of utilities, forest/ pollution/ environment clearances etc.
iii) A Committee of Secretaries has been constituted to address inter-ministerial and Central-States issues such as Land Acquisition, utility shifting, environment approvals, clearance of ROBs etc.
iv) To expedite the construction of ROBs, an officer of the Railways has been posted to NHAI to coordinate with Ministry of Railways. MOU has been signed with M/s IRCON for implementation of some of the ROBs.
v) Action has been taken against the poorly performing contractors.
Sl. No. Name of Scheme 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 (upto June, 2005) Targets as per Action Plan Achievement % Achievem ent 1 Widening to two lanes (Kms.) 2537 2337 92.1 2 Strengthening of existing weak pavement (Kms.) 8232 6009.28 73.0 3 Widening to four lanes (Kms.) 6069 3853.28 63.5 4 Improvement of low grade section (Kms.) 96 131 136.5 5 Improvement of riding quality programme (IRQP) (Kms).12548 12603 100.4 6 Rehabilitation / Construction of Bridges (nos.)598 403 67.4 7 Construction of Bypasses (nos.) 43 21 48.8*****