Govt faces flak in LS on slow progress of Highway projects

Facing flak from Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on slow progress of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP), the government on Tuesday said it was taking action to expedite the pace of implementation.

Facing flak from Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on slow progress of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP), the government on Tuesday said it was taking action to expedite the pace of implementation.

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“Progress of projects is closely monitored at various levels and steps have been taken to expedite land acquisition, shifting of utilities, obtaining clearances from Railways for Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and action against non-performing contractors,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said.

He said government was conducting reviews on regular basis of on-going and proposed NHDP projects which would commence within eight months from the date of award.

Kamalnath said the conversion of two-lane roads to four-lane or six-lane was done after examining the flow of traffic. Two-lane roads would be ten metre in width and have traffic up to 15,000 passenger car units.

The minister said Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) is permitted to be used in the construction of National Highways to improve the durability of the roads constructed.

Kamalnath said enlightening people through signages and other measures were undertaken to improve safety.