44% of national highway projects delayed: Gadkari

He said Maharashtra had the highest number of delayed projects, with 59 out of 101 projects running behind schedule

New Delhi: Nearly 44% of national highway projects, each worth at least ₹150 crore, across 32 states and union territories (UT), were under construction as of March 2024, but are facing delays, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

Gadkari said that 419 out of 952 projects had missed their original completion deadlines by March 2024 (X/NHAI_Official)

In response to a question in Rajya Sabha from Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Gadkari revealed that 419 out of 952 such projects had missed their original completion deadlines by March 2024, with delays at various stages of project completion.

He said Maharashtra had the highest number of delayed projects, with 59 out of 101 projects running behind schedule. However, proportionally, northeastern states and UTs are the worst affected. These numbers do not include projects considered for termination or foreclosure.

Gadkari attributed the delays to a range of issues, including land acquisition bottlenecks, delays in obtaining statutory clearances and permissions, utility shifting, encroachment removal, and law and order issues.

He also mentioned factors like poor contractor performance and force majeure events, such as the pandemic, heavy rainfall, floods, cyclones, landslides, and avalanches, which contributed to some delays.

For delays not caused by contractors, the government pays price escalation as per the defined formula, based on the final value of price escalation determined after the project’s completion and the settlement of bills. He added that contractors are penalised if the delay is their fault.

While Gadkari did not provide specific figures on cost overruns linked to these delays, he clarified that not all delays result in additional costs.

He further said that the ministry is working with state governments and other stakeholders to streamline land acquisition, environmental clearance, and utility shifting processes.

Responding to another query from Janata Dal (United), JD(U), lawmaker Sanjay Kumar Jha from Bihar, Gadkari said that the ministry had blacklisted 29 consulting firms and 516 individuals for misrepresentation of facts or violation of contractual obligations in preparing detailed project reports with major deficiencies.