(a) whether the Government proposes to establish a separate fund for rebuilding and repair of roads damaged due to floods in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) if not, the alternate measures being taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) to (c) This Ministry is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). The works on NHs are accordingly taken up from time to time as per traffic density, inter-se priority and availability of funds to keep the NHs in traffic worthy conditions.
Various types of Maintenance and Repair (M&R) works taken up on NHs include Ordinary Repairs (OR), Periodical Renewals (PR), Special Repairs (SR) and Flood Damage Repairs (FDR).
The Ministry has no proposal to establish a separate fund for rebuilding and repair of NHs damaged due to floods in the country.
The M&R of stretches of NHs, where either Development works have commenced or Operation, Maintenance and Tolling (OMT) Concessions/ Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Contracts have been awarded, are the responsibility of the concerned Concessioners/ Contractors till the Defect Liability Period (DLP)/ the Concession Period.
M&R of balance stretches of NHs of the country, including Restoration of damages due to floods, rainfalls, etc., on such stretches, are carried out as per available budgetary outlay, inter-se priority and traffic density to keep such NHs in traffic worthy conditions. This is an ongoing process.
The Ministry has taken policy decision to also implement M&R of NHs entrusted with State Governments/ Union Territories (UTs) through Short Term (One Year) and Medium Term (Three Years) contracts effective from Financial Year 2021-22, besides implementation of works such as OR, PR, SR, FDR, etc., through State Governments/ UTs as per extant policies.
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