Improving road infrastructure

03/12/2019

In the year 2015 the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had approved up-gradation of eight National Highways in the strategically important Jammu and Kashmir after a study spanning over six months to improve road infrastructure in pilgrim and border towns and backward areas. It was announced that these National Highways would be developed under Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP), National Highway Development Project (NHDP) and National Highway (Original) schemes and entire expenditure would be borne by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Even over four years after the announcement by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, up-gradation of five National Highways in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh has failed to begin due to dilly-dallying approach of National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), Border Roads Organization (BRO) and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
As our newspaper has earlier also highlighted this issue but despite lapse of over four years up-gradation of five out of eight approved National Highways has failed to begin mainly because of dilly-dallying approach of NHIDCL, BRO and NHAI, which are still formulating Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and as work could not be started during the past over four years nobody either in these agencies or in the administration of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh is in a position to specify the time-frame for the completion of works. The task of up-gradation of 250 kilometres Leh-Upsi-Sarchu (NH-03) single lane/intermediate lane to 2 lane was assigned to Border Roads Organization but the present status in the official records reads: “DPR is under preparation by the BRO”.
All these National Highways are important and such a dilly-dallying approach is unjustified and had swiftness been shown in completion of formalities including preparation of DPRs, up-gradation work could have been started long time back. Keeping in view the dilly-dallying approach in the preparation of DPRs, the administration of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh should take up the issue with the Union Ministry so that necessary instructions are passed to these agencies for completion of formalities without any further delay.

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