Infrastructure: Narendra Modi government orders UP CM Yogi Adityanath to speed up National Highway development

National highway (NH) development work totalling a length of 8,512 km is being hampered in Uttar Pradesh mainly due to delays in finalisation of tenders by the state administration and problems in getting construction material such as stone aggregate. Upset over this, the Nitin Gadkari-led ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has sent a missive to the Yogi Adityanath-led government, urging it to resolve the issues.

The state had 12,087 km of NHs as on March 30, 2017. MoRTH has entrusted the National Highways Authority of India to build another 4,529 km of NHs, and 3,983 km to the state public works department. MoRTH has also accorded in-principle approval to declare another 3,575 km as NHs.

Ahead of the assembly election in the state, Gadkari had said that road projects worth R2 lakh crore would be taken up in the state in the next two years.

MoRTH has suggested that tenders for the NH works costing R5 crore to R100 crore may be allowed to be approved at the chief engineer (CE) level for expediting the awards.

Currently, tenders costing up to R100 crore are finalised only after the go-ahead of the office of the principal secretary and other departments, which “take unreasonable time, thereby delaying in award of the work”.

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The ministry has also suggested the state to modify, albeit slightly, the state-level tendering evaluation committee and make the chief engineer (NH) the chairman of the state-level evaluation committee as per its guidelines.

It also wants the state to station one dedicated nodal officer from the forest department exclusively for faster clearance to NHs.

The need for expediting the land acquisition process and handing over the land in highway projects has also been flagged. MoRTH has also asked the state to suitably direct the state PWD for expeditious signing of contract agreements for the preparation of detailed project report regarding the “in-principle” approved NHs.

Highlighting the Allahabad High Court judgment that restricted transportation of minor minerals between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, MoRTH said, “This restriction has resulted in acute shortage of construction materials for highways sector and other infrastructure projects across the states which have resulted in hampering the progress of works.”

MoRTH said till the time a policy is formed, as per the high court order, a suitable relief may be given to the contractors working on NHs for allowing transportation of materials into Uttar Pradesh from others neighbouring states.