Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday told Parliament that 29 National Highway projects covering 683 km and costing ₹10,992 crore were progressing at a slow pace in Tamil Nadu.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha to a question by DMK MP S. Gnanathiraviam, the Minister said the projects were delayed mainly due to land acquisition, non-availability of soil/aggregate, poor performance of contractors, environment/forest/wildlife clearances, overbridge and underbridge issues with the Railways, public agitation for additional facilities, and arbitration/contractual disputes with contractors, etc.
According to Mr. Gadkari, some projects that were moving at a slower pace included widening the existing two-lane Salem-Tirupathur-Vaniyambadi road to a four-lane one, works on the Kaliyakkavilai-Kanniyakumari and the Kollam-Thirumangalam stretch, widening and strengthening the Natham-Kottampatti section, and four-laning of the Chettikulam to Natham section, among others. As many as 29 projects were supposed to be completed between 2017 and 2020.
In order to ensure the timely completion of the projects and their subsequent maintenance, regular meetings were being held with project developers, State governments and contractors, the Union Minister said.
“Regular review meetings are held by the Ministry and the National Highways Authority of India with the regional officers, concessionaires and contractors to make the construction of these projects hassle-free. To expedite their completion, various steps are also being taken, including streamlining of land acquisition and environmental clearances, exit for equity investors, premium rescheduling, close coordination with other Ministries and revamping of the dispute resolution mechanism,” he added.
To another question by Congress MP Manickam Tagore, Mr. Gadkari said the repair and rectification work for a total of 19 National Highway stretches in Tamil Nadu, which were damaged due to the recent rain, had also been undertaken. The cost of repair for eight stretches was approximately ₹9.75 crore.
There was no cost implication for repairing the remaining 11 stretches as it was within the purview of the contractors and concessionaires, the Union Minister added.
.png?w=600)
