5 Date : 16-08-2005 Participants
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11/8/2018 Fourteenth Loksabha Session : 5 Date : 16-08-2005 Participants : Jha Shri Raghunath,Baalu Shri T.R.,Jha Shri Raghunath,Yadav Shri Devendra Prasad,Modi Shri Sushil Kumar,Baalu Shri T.R.,Singh Shri Prabhunath,Nitish Kumar Shri an> Title : Regarding situation arising out of dilapidated condition of National highways in Bihar and steps taken by the Government in this regard. gÉÉÒ ®PÉÖxÉÉlÉ ZÉÉ (¤ÉäÉÊiɪÉÉ) : +ÉvªÉFÉ àÉcÉänªÉ, àÉé ÉʤÉcÉ® ®ÉVªÉ BÉEä ®ÉVÉàÉÉMÉÉç BÉEÉÒ ]Ú]ÉÒ-{ÉÚE]ÉÒ cÉãÉiÉ BÉEä ºÉƤÉÆvÉ àÉå àÉÉxÉxÉÉÒªÉ àÉÆjÉÉÒ, ºÉ½BÉE {ÉÉÊ®´ÉcxÉ +ÉÉè® ®ÉVÉàÉÉMÉÇ àÉÆjÉÉÒ BÉEÉ vªÉÉxÉ +ÉÉBÉEÉÌ ÉiÉ BÉE®xÉÉ SÉÉciÉÉ cÚÆ*…[R26]…(BªÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ) MR. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, all of you are fully aware and we are trying to allow this Calling Attention because the rules are very clear. You are entitled to ask for one clarification. Even such an experienced Member like Shri Prabhunath Singh has signed another hon. Member’s notice. He will not be treated to have given a notice under the rules. It is not my decision. But today he has asked for it. I will allow him but it should not be treated as a precedent. … (Interruptions) MR. SPEAKER: Please ask for one clarification. The hon. Ministers are giving very elaborate answers. … (Interruptions) MR. SPEAKER: Probably, in future I will request the hon. Ministers concerned to give the copies of the speech to the Members’ concerned in advance so that it need not be fully read out. It is another three-page statement. … (Interruptions) THE MINISTEROF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI T.R. BAALU): Sir, shall I place it on the Table of the House? … … (Interruptions) *In Bihar, the total length of National Highways is 3,629 kms, out of which, at present a length of 799 kms is being developed and maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the remaining length of 2830 kms is being improved and maintained by the Road Construction Department (National Highways Wing), Government of Bihar, on behalf of this Ministry. *Also placed in Library, See No LT 2629/05 For obtaining first-hand information regarding the condition of National Highways in Bihar, a tour was 1/14 11/8/2018 undertaken by me in June 2004 along with the officials of my Ministry and officials of the National Highways Wing (NH Wing) of the Road Construction Department (RCD), Government of Bihar. I would like to mention that I chose Bihar as the first State for review of the status of its National Highways. Discussions were held with the then Chief Minister of Bihar where Union Railways Minister, Union Minister of Rural Development, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Minister of State for Agriculture, Food & Consumer Affairs and Members of Parliament from Bihar were also present. I personally travelled by road from Patna to Muzaffurpur and from Muzaffurpur towards Kataunjha. Based on the discussions with the State Government and ground realities, various stretches of nine National Highways, aggregating to a length of 890 kms were identified for improvement to four-lanes. These stretches have been included under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase III. Bids for two works, viz., Patna-Bakhtiarpur section of NH-30 and Hajipur-Muzaffarpur section of NH-77, were invited on ‘Build-Operate-Transfer’ (BOT) basis and there was no response from the entrepreneurs. To resolve this issue, I took a meeting with the Members of Parliament and officials of my Ministry and the Bihar Government on 28th April 2005. It may be mentioned that under NHDP Phase-III, maximum grant allowed by the Central Government in order to make the project viable is 40 per cent of the total civil cost of the project. It is called ‘viability gap funding’. On the basis of deliberations in the meeting held on 28th April 2005 and detailed examination of the issues relating to no response to bids under the BOT format, it was felt that increasing the maximum viability gap funding may elicit favourable response from the potential bidders. Therefore, a proposal for increasing the maximum limit of viability gap funding from the existing cap of 40 per cent to 60 per cent, subject to the condition of the State Government providing land needed for the project, is under consideration of the Central Government. For undertaking immediate repairs on critical road stretches of National Highways in Bihar, works amounting to Rs. 20.00 crores were identified and most of these works have been sanctioned by the Ministry. These works have to be implemented by the NH Wing of the Road construction Department, Government of Bihar. Under NHDP Phase-I, a length of 206 kms of NH-2 is being four – laned as a part of the Golden Quadrilateral. Work in 137 km length has been completed and work in the remaining 69-km length is in progress. Under NHDP Phase – II, a length of 513 kms of NH-28, NH-31 and NH-57 is being four-laned as a part of the East-West Corridor. Work in a stretch 122 kms is under implementation and the agency for the construction work in the remaining length of 391 kms is being finalised by the NHAI. Besides, an aggregate length of 80 kms of NH-57A and NH-28A has been entrusted to NHAI for development and maintenance to provide better connectivity to Nepal. These stretches are included in the NHDP Phase – III. The remaining 810-km long road stretches of NHDP Phase-III are at present being developed and maintained by the Road Construction Department, Government of Bihar. Further, out of the length of 2,830 kms of National Highways which are not part of NHDP and which are being maintained by the State RCD on behalf of the Ministry on agency basis, an aggregate length of 2,105 kms has been sanctioned for improvement / development and maintenance since 2000-01. Works in the length of 2/14 11/8/2018 1,685 kms have been completed and in the remaining length of 420 kms, works are at various stages of progress. The balance length of 725 kms of National Highways is planned for improvement during the subsequent years. I would like to inform this august House that during the last 5 years, a sum of Rs. 352.03 crore has been allocated for development and Rs. 194.06 crore for maintenance of National Highways in Bihar. During the current year the amount allocated is Rs. 79.00 crore for development and Rs. 30.78 crore for maintenance. During the Ninth Five Year Plan and the Tenth Five year Plan, 2,373 kms of State roads had been declared as National Highways in Bihar. These roads were mainly of single lane/intermediate lane and in dismal condition when they were handed over by the State Government to the Central Government. These National Highways suffered from inherent deficiencies of inadequate width and thickness of pavement, poor geometrics, weak and narrow bridges and culverts, inadequate safety features, etc. A huge investment is required for bringing these roads upto NH standards. However, efforts are being made to remove inherent deficiencies gradually in a phased manner depending upon the availability of funds and inter se priority of other works. Also, annual devastating floods in North Bihar, lack of capable contractors, erratic supply of bitumen from Barauni Refinery, delay in award of works by the RCD, Bihar, law & order problems, overloading of the vehicles, etc., are major hindrances in the improvement of National Highways in Bihar. Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Shri Raghunath Jha, has mentioned to me earlier, about NH-77, NH- 104, NH-28A and NH-57 in Bihar. I would like to inform that these National Highways are being improved in phases. As regards NH-77, the Ministry has sanctioned works for reconstruction of six bridges on tributaries of river Bagmati and improvement of a length of 45 kms under the Improvement of Riding Quality Programme (IRQP). With the completion of these bridges, it is expected that flow of traffic on NH-77 would improve considerably. NH-104 is a single –lane road. The Ministry has sanctioned improvement works on a length of 50 kms on this National Highway. Works for reconstruction of a high-level bridge at Dhubbaghat over the River Bagmati has been sanctioned and entrusted to the Bihar State Bridge Corporation for implementation. The stretch of road between Piparkoti and Raxaul on NH-28A has been entrusted to the NHAI for maintenance and development. Detailed Project Report for 2-laning with paved shoulders of this road stretch has been prepared by the NHAI. NH-57 starting from Muzaffarpur is part of the East-West Corridor. Works have been recently awarded for two packages covering a length of 79 kms between Purnea and Forbesganj. Award of works for the remaining length of 231 kms is under process. 3/14 11/8/2018 I would like to impress upon the Hon’ble Members that we are according high priority to the improvement of National Highways in Bihar. MR. SPEAKER: The copy of the speech was available earlier. Shri Raghunath Jha, I hope, you have got it earlier. It is good. It is laid on the Table of the House. … (Interruptions) MR. SPEAKER: Shri Raghunath Jha, you put your question. … (Interruptions) SHRI T.R. BAALU: Sir, I have laid the statement on the Table of the House. … (Interruptions) SHRI NITISH KUMAR (NALANDA): Sir, it is about calling the attention of the House. … (Interruptions) +ÉvªÉFÉ àÉcÉänªÉ : UÉäÉʽA £É<Ç* BÉEãÉ ºÉä cÉäMÉÉ* MR. SPEAKER: I will allow two of the representatives – Shri Raghunath Jha and Shri Prabhu Nath Singh – to represent Bihar.