Amid the Tamil Nadu government feeling snubbed after the union government rejected the state’s tableau for the Republic Day parade, came another blow from union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari who complained that they were facing several bottlenecks to move projects in the state.
On Monday, chief minister MK Stalin responded to him taking a defensive position that many of the current issues causing project delays are from the past decade during the AIADMK’s regime but he assured to cooperate.
Gadkari was speaking at The Hindu’s Business Line Countdown to Budget 2022 last week when he said, “my problem is with Tamil Nadu” and sought the state’s cooperation making a comparison with Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan whom he said was proactive despite some issues.
In a detailed reply, Stalin says a team to specifically look into National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects is meeting every fortnight and that they are putting their best efforts to sort them out at the earliest. “Considering the efforts taken by the state government and the resultant progress in the field, your statement made during the above-mentioned event has been a bit surprising to me,” Stalin said in the letter.
He recalled that he had given a detailed reply on the action taken when Gakari had written to him on these issues in the past. “After my government took over, NHAI projects have been given very high importance by us,” he said. “We fully realise the significance of road connectivity for an industrialized state like us and hence I have given specific instructions to all departments to give top priority to NHAI projects.”
{{/usCountry}}He recalled that he had given a detailed reply on the action taken when Gakari had written to him on these issues in the past. “After my government took over, NHAI projects have been given very high importance by us,” he said. “We fully realise the significance of road connectivity for an industrialized state like us and hence I have given specific instructions to all departments to give top priority to NHAI projects.”
{{/usCountry}}The DMK government took over in May after a decade of AIADMK rule.
Stalin said he held a review meeting and as a follow up, the minister for public works (EV Velu) has so far conducted four meetings with all the departments concerned with the NHAI projects. He said the chief secretary and the principal secretary, highways and minor ports department have conducted 13 different meetings on the same matters along with the district collectors and line departments along with NHAI officials. Overall, there has been a high-level meeting for NHAI projects every fortnight during the last six months.
Stalin said the public works minister had met Gadkari in Delhi on October 12 last year to brief him on the steps that are being taken for speedy implementation of NHAI projects. Following that minister Velu had convened a joint meeting on December 16 last year with officials from the state and general manager of NHAI from Delhi.
“All the issues and action taken on them were discussed during this full day meeting and it was noted that about 80% of the NHAI issues have been resolved,” Stalin said. Taking up specific projects such as Vikaravandi – Kumbakonam – Thanjavur Road and Melur – Karaikudi Road, Stalin said that they have been resolved with specific interventions by the state government. “The above position may also kindly be verified with the NHAI team in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
The chief minister also blamed the NHAI for causing certain delays. For instance, he said the system of approval of land valuation for land acquisition under the National Highways Act needs to be streamlined. “In some cases, NHAI has not agreed to valuation fixed by the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) or the arbitration awards given by the district collectors, putting the process in limbo,” he said.
He said applications for borrow earth permission were not scrutinised properly and were being given without necessary documents in place and some sites aren’t feasible as there is water stagnation. However, Stalin said that as requested by the NHAI, steps are being taken to amend the Mining Rules to give borrow earth permits for longer periods in government lands.
As of now, they are currently being given for three months since Tamil Nadu had two spells of monsoon and generally tanks/ponds are under water for six months. For private lands, the permission already is being given for nine months or more.