Question : WIDENING OF CHENNAI BANGALORE AND CHENNAI TIRUPATI HIGHWAYS

(a) whether the Government has received any proposal to widen Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Tirupati highways;

(b) if so, the details and present status thereof along with the estimated cost of the project and the time-frame fixed for completion of this project;

(c) whether the Government has taken note of the poor quality of construction and maintenance works in the country;

(d) if so, whether the Government has any proposal to hold contractors responsible for the quality of roads and also to undertaken road projects under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI SARVEY SATHYANARAYANA)

(a) to (b) No proposal has been received from the State Government for widening of Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Tirupati highways. However, the present status of projects undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Tirupati sections of National Highways under different phases of National Highways Development Project (NHDP) are placed at Annexure.

(c) to (e) The construction works under NHDP are being executed as per guidelines of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) with prescribed quality and necessary quality control. National Highways (NH) in the State of Tamil Nadu are maintained in good condition. As per the new revised guidelines for Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) Policy, if the Project Highway suffers any loss or damage during the maintenance from any cause attributable to the Contractor, the Contractor shall, at its cost and expense, rectify and remedy such loss or damage forthwith confirming the provisions of the Model Concession Agreement. The Contractor shall also be responsible for all the defects and deficiencies of the project till the expiry of the a period of two years, any repair or rectification undertaken including any addition testing shall be carried out by the Contractor at its own risks and costs, failing which a penalty equivalent to any amount equal to twenty percent of the Cost as damages shall be recoverable from the Contractor.