Upgradation of highways in Uttar Pradesh: The Modi government has sanctioned various highway improvement projects worth over Rs 1600 crores. According to the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, the government, on Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, has sanctioned the improvement and upgradation of existing road to four-lane with paved shoulder of NH-731 from end of the district Hardoi to Lucknow (Package IV) in UP with a budget of Rs 540.97 crore. Besides, the government, on hybrid annuity model (HAM), has sanctioned improvement and upgradation work of the existing road to four-lane with paved shoulder from the end of Hardoi Bypass to end of the district Hardoi District of NH-731 (Package III) in UP with a budget of Rs 1138.81 crore.
Gadkari in a recent written reply to the parliament had said projects comprising 19,265 kilometres length have been awarded with Rs 5,60,216 crore cost, under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase I. Length of approximately 6,750 kilometres has been completed till now. Infra projects consisting of 612 kilometres length with Rs 13,720 crore cost have been awarded in the state of Bihar, under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase I. According to the Union Minister, for construction, the government has set a target of 12,000 kilometres of National Highway during the current fiscal 2021-22 against which 5,118 Kilometres has been developed as on 30 November 2021.
In a bid to achieve the target for the current fiscal 2021-22, the government is monitoring various issues affecting the completion of National Highway projects such as land acquisition, utility shifting, law and order issues, encroachment removal, non-availability of soil/aggregate, ROB and RUB issues, environment/forest/wildlife clearances, contractual issues, etc. with all stakeholders including state governments as well as other Central Ministries or Departments. Besides, as per requirements based on issues’ criticality, regular meetings are conducted with concerned state officials at local, district or state level on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly basis, Gadkari said.
