(a) whether the Government has received complaints with regard to maintenance of the National Highways in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof alongwith the remedial measures taken/being taken by the Government on such complaints, highway-wise; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure adequate funds are made available for the main- tenance of NHs, State-wise?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI PON. RADHAKRISHNAN)
(a) & (b) Yes, Madam. Complaints have been received with regard to poor condition and inadequate maintenance of the National Highways (NHs) in the country from various States. The development and maintenance of NHs is a continuous process. Accordingly, the NHs in the country are kept in traffic worthy condition from time to time within the avai- lable resources based upon the assessment of their condi- tion, depending upon traffic density and inter-se priority of works.
(c) The allocation earmarked for Maintenance & Repair (M&R) is always less than that of requirement as per Ministry’s Maintenance norms. The Ministry had taken up the issue of enhancement of allocation of funds for maintenance of NHs with the Ministry of Finance from time to time and also in the last financial year 2014-15. Accordingly, allocation under M&R was increased to Rs. 2,599.40 crore at Revised Estimate (RE) stage from Rs. 2,099.93 crore at Budget Esti- mate (BE) stage during the year 2014-15.