09-26-2007, 12:10 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Road projects suffer as Baalu obsessed with Setu </b>
Pioneer.com
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | Bhopal
The key infrastructure projects of the Ministry of Road, Transport and Shipping headed by TR Baalu are running far behind the schedule of completion. The time overrun is so huge that it raises doubts whether timely completion of the projects is any concern for Baalu, currently seized with the issue of Sethusamudram project.
<b>The latest infrastructure appraisal report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation paints a grim picture of delay in the execution of work on east-west, north-south corridors along with the monstrous delay in completing the crucial port connectivity roads. In the case of several such projects, the physical progress is nil. The deadline is lost.</b>
The majority of projects under North-Sourth Corridor-II have registered tardy progress.<b> For instance, the physical progress of Rs 546.15 crore-worth Adloor-Kalkallu road on the National Highway 7 has so far been only 0.50 per cent. </b>
<b>"The project was approved in December 2003 at an estimated cost of Rs 546.15 crore. The progress report of the project is dismal. In fact, there are several such projects where the physical progress is abysmal, leading to cost overruns. It is a sad reflection on the implementation of important projects,"</b> an official in the Ministry of S&PI said.
"The North-Sourth Corridor-II projects showing tardy progress include the corridors between Jam-Wadner-Devdhari-Kelapur in Maharashtra, Madurai-Kanyakumari project on the National Highway 7 in Tamil Nadu, Nagpur-Hyderabad, and Pathankot-Bhogpur. All the 40 corridors under the project are bound to miss the deadline," the official said.
"Similarly, there are as many as 66 corridors to be completed under East-West Corridor-II project. Except a few corridors like Rajkot bypass-Gondal Getpur in Gujarat where the physical progress is 41.90 per cent, others are progressing at the snail's pace, though they were approved in December 2003 itself," the official added.
The infrastructure appraisal report of the S&PI Ministry even shows all the projects under the Golden Quadrilateral have been delayed by three years. <b>An ambitious project launched during the NDA's time, the project was to be originally commissioned by 2004, and the deadline now appears to be early 2008 or 2009.</b>
The GQ, north-south and east-west corridors are the part of National Highway Development Project-I (NHDP). According to a Government official, there were 196 projects of the Road and Transport Ministry on the monitoring radar of the S&PI Ministry for the period ending December 2006. At least 92 projects have been delayed.
The officials attribute the time overrun in NHDP packages to adverse law and order situation in Bihar and Jharkhand, difficulties experienced in land acquisition as in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
"There are several other factors like delay in getting the forestland clearance, removal of large number of structures, including places of worship and other utilities, which contribute greatly in delaying the road projects," they said.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer.com
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | Bhopal
The key infrastructure projects of the Ministry of Road, Transport and Shipping headed by TR Baalu are running far behind the schedule of completion. The time overrun is so huge that it raises doubts whether timely completion of the projects is any concern for Baalu, currently seized with the issue of Sethusamudram project.
<b>The latest infrastructure appraisal report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation paints a grim picture of delay in the execution of work on east-west, north-south corridors along with the monstrous delay in completing the crucial port connectivity roads. In the case of several such projects, the physical progress is nil. The deadline is lost.</b>
The majority of projects under North-Sourth Corridor-II have registered tardy progress.<b> For instance, the physical progress of Rs 546.15 crore-worth Adloor-Kalkallu road on the National Highway 7 has so far been only 0.50 per cent. </b>
<b>"The project was approved in December 2003 at an estimated cost of Rs 546.15 crore. The progress report of the project is dismal. In fact, there are several such projects where the physical progress is abysmal, leading to cost overruns. It is a sad reflection on the implementation of important projects,"</b> an official in the Ministry of S&PI said.
"The North-Sourth Corridor-II projects showing tardy progress include the corridors between Jam-Wadner-Devdhari-Kelapur in Maharashtra, Madurai-Kanyakumari project on the National Highway 7 in Tamil Nadu, Nagpur-Hyderabad, and Pathankot-Bhogpur. All the 40 corridors under the project are bound to miss the deadline," the official said.
"Similarly, there are as many as 66 corridors to be completed under East-West Corridor-II project. Except a few corridors like Rajkot bypass-Gondal Getpur in Gujarat where the physical progress is 41.90 per cent, others are progressing at the snail's pace, though they were approved in December 2003 itself," the official added.
The infrastructure appraisal report of the S&PI Ministry even shows all the projects under the Golden Quadrilateral have been delayed by three years. <b>An ambitious project launched during the NDA's time, the project was to be originally commissioned by 2004, and the deadline now appears to be early 2008 or 2009.</b>
The GQ, north-south and east-west corridors are the part of National Highway Development Project-I (NHDP). According to a Government official, there were 196 projects of the Road and Transport Ministry on the monitoring radar of the S&PI Ministry for the period ending December 2006. At least 92 projects have been delayed.
The officials attribute the time overrun in NHDP packages to adverse law and order situation in Bihar and Jharkhand, difficulties experienced in land acquisition as in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
"There are several other factors like delay in getting the forestland clearance, removal of large number of structures, including places of worship and other utilities, which contribute greatly in delaying the road projects," they said.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->