NEW DELHI: Failing to achieve an ambitious target of 40 km per day highway construction last year, Centre has decided to constitute a high-powered conciliatory committee to resolve various cases relating to construction of national highways in recent past.
The committee consisting of senior functionaries will be constituted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with a mandate to settle disputes following approval from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, said NHAI chairman Y S Malik.
The committee likely to consist of three Chief General Managers of NHAI is likely to take a shape in next one month or so.
“With the three-member committee coming into existence, the aggrieved contractors and stakeholders can approach the committee and seek solutions of their disputes and conflicts in national highways projects which involve investment worth thousands of crores,” said Malik while speaking at a conference.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had recently said that efforts are in progress to increase the road construction target from 23 km per day to 40 km per in 2017-18. In 2016-16, 8,144 km of roads were constructed.
“In the recent past 436 arbitral awards have been pronounced in BOT (build, operate and transfer) projects of NHAI. 151 arbitral cases have been resolved whereas 199 are pending at various stages,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given top priority to highways sector and improving regional connectivity across the country lies on top the government’s agenda. The government has kept a target to increase the length of national highways from present 96,000 km to 2 lakh kilometer.
DG, Directorate General of Married Accommodation Project (DGMAP), Maj. Gen. Sanjeev Jain, emphasized that the current methodologies of award of contracts for infrastructure projects particularly, roads, highways and even housing carried host of loopholes which need to be plugged as these encourage inefficiencies in implementation of such projects.