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‘Babus delay highway projects’

pioneer.com

PNS | New Delhi

Ploy to push up costs, favour contractors: Secy



It’s finally official. A nexus between contractors and Government officials has been operating to deliberately delay highway projects and increase the cost incurred for the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP). And this with the full knowledge of top-level Government officials.



The first official admission of this nexus comes in a statement given by Secretary (Road Transport) Brahm Dutt before the parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture. The parliamentary panel report has expressed shock over this “candid admission”.



Pulling up the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) over several delayed projects, the panel stated, “As regards corruption and unholy collusion between contractors and authorities, the Secretary was candid enough to accept the operation of such a nexus.”



The Secretary has said that the contractors, engineers and consultants join hands to create disputes. These disputes, in turn, delay the highway projects and push up costs.



Though Minister Kamal Nath has been trying to pin the blame on the model concessionaire agreement (MCA), Dutt told the panel that there was “nothing wrong with the contract, rules or regulations” and that the real problem related to their enforcement. Referring to a blacklist of contractors, he said there was a need to “pursue them and penalise them”.



Putting the onus on MPs, the Secretary appealed to the panel members to make a law so that the errant officers and corrupt contractors are punished. The report quotes him, “… it is these areas where you, as a member of the standing committee, must come out and pass some law and those fellows should be punished mercilessly… which is not happening.”



He added, “Even in land acquisition for NHAI projects, directors and contractors join hands and delay projects. The question is how we can improve the system.”



Interestingly, Dutt said he himself was part of the system. The report observes, “The Secretary submitted that he was not excluding himself.”

These babus are cogress goons, when NDA was in power they always came out with some scandal, Babus were working as mole but when Congress is in power all are enjoying loot.