REPORT NO. 278
PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA
DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE
TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY EIGHTH REPORT Demands for Grants (2020-21) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
(Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 12th March, 2020) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 12th March, 2020)
Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi March, 2020/ Phalguna, 1941 (Saka)
Website : https://rajyasabha.nic.in E-mail : [email protected]
PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA
DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE
TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY EIGHTH REPORT
Demands for Grants (2020-21) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
(Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 12th March, 2020) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 12th March, 2020)
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI
March, 2020/ Phalguna, 1941 (Saka)
C O N T E N T S
P AGES
1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (i) 2. INTRODUCTION (ii) 3. ACRONYMS (iii)-(vi) 4. REPORT 1-67 5. RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS-AT A GLANCE 68-89 6. MINUTES 90-97 7. ANNEXURES 98-105
COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (2019-20) (Constituted w.e.f. 13th September, 2019)
1. Shri T.G. Venkatesh - Chairman
Rajya Sabha s 2. Shri Prasanna Acharya 3. Shri Raj Babbar 4. Shri Sambhaji Chhatrapati 5. Dr. Sonal Mansingh 6. Shri Derek O’Brien 7. Kumari Selja 8. Shri Tiruchi Siva 9. Shri Dharmapuri Srinivas 10. Shri Vinay Dinu Tendulkar
Lok Sabha
11. Shrimati Sumalatha Ambareesh 12. Shri Anto Antony 13. Shrimati Veena Devi 14. Shri Tapir Gao 15. Shri Rahul Kaswan 16. Shri Saumitra Khan 17. Ms. Goddeti Madhavi 18. Shri Ramesh Chandra Majhi 19. Shri Sunil Baburao Mendhe 20. Shri K. Muraleedharan 21. Shri S.S. Palanimanickam 22. Shri Chhedi Paswan 23. Shri Kamlesh Paswan 24. Shri Tirath Singh Rawat 25. Shrimati Mala Roy 26. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy 27. Shri Rajbahadur Singh 28. Shri Dushyant Singh 29. Shri Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas 30. Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane 31. Shri Dinesh Chandra Yadav
SECRETARIAT Shri J. Sundriyal, Joint Secretary Shri P. Narayanan, Director Shri Dinesh Singh, Additional Director Ms. Catherine John L., Under Secretary Shri Gaurav Singh Gahlain, Assistant Committee Officer
(i)
INTRODUCTION
I, the Chairman, Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, having been authorized by the Committee to present on its behalf, do hereby present this Two Hundred and Seventy Eighth Report on Demands for Grants (2020- 21) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
2. The Committee, at its meeting held on 20th February, 2020 considered the subject and heard the Secretary and other officials of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
3. The Committee wishes to express its thanks to the officers of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for placing before the Committee, the material and information desired in connection with the subject and for clarifying the points raised by the Members.
4. The Committee considered and adopted the Report in its meeting held on the 11th March, 2020.
(T.G. Venkatesh) NEW DELHI; Chairman, March 11 , 2020 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Phalguna 21, 1941 (Saka) Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, Rajya Sabha
(ii) ACRONYMS
ADB Asian Development Bank
AE Authority Engineer
AIS Automotive Industry Standard
AMC Annual Maintenance Charges
AP Andhra Pradesh
ASRTU Association of State Road Transport Undertakings
BE Budget Estimates
BM Bharatmala
BMTC Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation
BOT Build-Operate-Transfer
BRO Border Road Organization
CAG Comptroller & Auditor General
CCEA Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
CCS Cabinet Committee on Security CCTV Closed Circuit Television
CRF Central Road Fund
CRIF Central Road and Infrastructure Fund
DDT Dividend Distribution Tax
DLP Defect Liability Period
DPR Detailed Project Report
DTE Domestic Travel Expenses
EAP Externally Aided Projects
EI&ISC Economic Importance & Inter-State Connectivity
EPC Engineering, Procurement, Construction
ETC Electronic Toll Collection
ETF Exchange Traded Fund
FY Financial Year
(iii) GBS Gross Budgetary Support
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GM General Manager
GNHCP Green National Highways Corridor Project
GPS Global Positioning System
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
HAM Hybrid Annuity Model
HPV Heavy Passenger Vehicle
I&C Inspection and Certification
IAHE Indian Academy of Highway Engineers
IDTR Institute of Driving Training and Research
IE Independent Engineer
IEBR Internal & Extra Budgetary Resources
IL&FS Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services
InvIT Infrastructure Investment Trust
IRC Indian Road Congress
IRQP Improvement in Riding Quality Programme
IT Information Technology
JICA Japan International Co-operation Agency
JNPT Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust
LA Land Acquisition
LMV Light Motor Vehicle
LWE Left Wing Extremism
MP Madhya Pradesh
MTN Medium Term Note
NCLT National Company Law Tribunal
NE North East
NFDC National Film Development Corporation
NH National Highway
(iv) NH(O) National Highways (Original)
NHAI National Highways Authority of India
NHDP National Highways Development Project
National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation NHIDCL Limited
NHIIP National Highway Interconnectivity Improvement Programme
NIIF National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
NIP National Infrastructure Pipeline
NITI National Institution for Transforming India
NSSF National Social Security Fund
OMT Operate, Maintenance and Transfer
OR Ordinary Repairs
ORR Outer Ring Road
PBFF Permanent Bridge Fee Fund
PR Periodic Renewal
Pr.CCA Principal Chief Controller of Account
PWD Public Works Department
RAS Reimbursable Advisory Service
RDTC Regional Driving Training Centre
RE Revised Estimates
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land RFCTLARR Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
ROB Rail Over Bridge
RRP Road Requirement Plan
RUB Rail Under Bridge
RW Roads Wing Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (North- SARDP-NE East)
SASEC South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation
SBI State Bank of India
(v) SCSP Scheduled Caste Sub Plan
SH State Highway
SMS Short Message Service
SOR Schedule of Rates
SR Special Repairs
TOT Toll-Operate-Transfer
TSP Tribal Sub Plan
UC Utilization Certificate
UPSRTC Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
UT Union Territory
(vi) REPORT
INTRODUCTION Road Transport is a critical component of the infrastructure required for the economic development of a country. Its impact on the pace, structure and pattern of development can be gauged by the fact that road transport is estimated to handle 90 percent and 69 percent of the countrywide passenger and freight traffic respectively, as per the National Transport Development Policy Committee Report of 2011-12. High growth and proper maintenance of the road network in India is a significant pre-requisite for her aspirations to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.
2. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shoulders the responsibilities and tasks pertaining to, inter alia, construction and maintenance of National Highways (NHs); administration of the National Highways Act,1956; National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988; National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008; Motor Vehicles Act 1988; and Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, as also formulation of broad policies relating to road transport and automotive norms, besides making arrangements for movement of vehicular traffic with neighbouring countries. 3. India has the second largest road network in the world, at about 58.98 lakh kilometers. This comprises National Highways, Expressways, State Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and Village Roads as under:
National Highways 1,32,500 km
State Highways 1,56,694 km
Other Roads 56,08,477 km
Total 58,97,671 km
4. The various associated offices under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are as follows: i. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI): Set up through an Act of Parliament in 1988, NHAI is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of the National Highways entrusted to it and for matters related or incidental there to. The NHAI became operational in February, 1995. ii. National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL): NHIDCL is responsible for the construction/ up-grading/widening of National Highways in parts of the country which share international boundaries with neighbouring countries in order to promote regional connectively on a sustainable basis.
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iii. Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE): IAHE is a collaborative body which was set up in the year 1983 with the objective of fulfilling the long felt need for training of Highway Engineers in the country, both at the entry level and during their service period. iv. Indian Road Congress (IRC): The IRC was formally registered as a Society on 24th September 1937 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 for periodical holding of road conferences to discuss issues related to road construction, maintenance & development.
ANNUAL PLAN 2019-20 5. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed that it had projected a total GBS requirement of Rs. 1,26,772.97 crore under RE 2019-20. The proposed allocations under RE 2019-20 is Rs. 83,015.97 crore, i.e. same as that of the BE 2019-20 outlay. The Ministry further stated that NHAI has been authorized to raise Internal & Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) to the tune of Rs. 75,000 crore. With regard to any projects/programmes of the Ministry getting affected because of the shortfall in actual allocation vis-à-vis the projected demand of the Ministry, it informed that the shortfall would affect ongoing projects under National Highways (Original) [NH(O)] scheme. However, considering that BE 2020-21 shall be fully available with effect from 01.04.2020, major shortfall was not anticipated. 6. The Ministry, in its written reply on allocation and expenditure for the year 2019-20, submitted as under:-
(Amount Rs. In crore) Sl. No. Name of the Scheme BE RE Expenditure up Provision proposed to 31.01.2020 1 External Aided Projects 3,028.00 2,228.00 1,355.11 2. Capital Outlay for NE Region 6,070.00 6,070.00 2,931.16 3. National Highways (Original) 22,850.00 24,772.00 22,638.76 4. Outlay under Tribal Area Sub Plan (TSP) 2610 2610 1,639.70 5. National Highways in Naxalite Affected 240.00 225.00 157.91 Area (LWE) and Ranchi-Vijayawada Corridor 6. (i) CRIF Cess for NHDP/ Bharatmala 16,091.00 16,091.00 13,855.90 (ii) Toll Remittance 10,600.00 10,600.00 10,600 (iii) Monetization of National Highways 10,000.00 10,000.00 5,000 Fund under TOT model 7. Roads of Economic Importance and Inter- 500 400 255.10 State connectivity
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8. Research and Development 39.28 39.28 23.67 9. Maintenance and Repairs of National 3,100.07 2,100.07 712.47 Highways including Swachhata activities Plan 10. Development of State/UTs Roads 7,421.58 7,421.58 4,087.06 11. Road Transport and Road Safety 280.00 273.00 47.01 12. Secretariat Expenditure 154.58 154.58 105.85 13. Misc (Supervision of NHs, 31.46 31.46 11.38 Charged, development IT etc) Total= 83,015.97 83,015.97 63,421.08
7. The Committee notes with concern the slow pattern of utilization as only 75% of funds could be spent till 31st January, 2020. Even the amount allocated at R.E. stage could not be spent under some of the heads, except National Highways (Original). The Committee feels that there is laxity on the part of the Ministry in releasing funds for other schemes. In fact, it is only focusing on construction of new highways, whereas important heads like Maintenance and Repair, Road Transport and Road Safety, Research and Development, received paltry amounts in comparison to the size of our highways network. The Committee is of the considered view that haphazard spending towards the end of the Financial Year is bound to cause quality issues in respect of the projects carried out under these Heads. 8. The Ministry, in its written reply, has cited the following reasons for less spending:-
(i) Externally Aided Projects – There is delay in some Projects being executed with loan assistance from JICA, ADB and World Bank. Accordingly, physical and financial targets could not be achieved.
(ii) Poor tender response, delay in award of new projects, poor progress/ cash flow problems of contractors, termination of contracts, delay in land acquisition have restricted the utilization of funds for projects in North East Region.
(iii) Poor progress of works, law and order problems are the reasons for less spending in development of Roads in LWE affected areas.
(iv) Delay in receipt of Utilization Certificates (UCs) from States for release of funds for development of State Roads under CRIF Scheme.
(v) Slow progress in bus port scheme as most of the projects are at DPR stage.
(vi) Few projects sanctioned under IDTR and I&C scheme and non-submission of UCs by States for existing projects.
9. The Committee finds the reasons too routine in nature. The Committee 3
recommends that the Ministry should be proactive in tackling these routine issues. Excessive spending in the last quarter is against the cannons of fiscal accounting.
10. The Ministry has taken the following actions to ensure utilization of unspent funds:–
(i) Proposals for re-appropriation of funds under Second Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2019-20 have been duly submitted considering progress of projects/ schemes, estimated expenditures, etc., towards ensuring utilization of balance funds.
(ii) Actions have been initiated towards release of funds for State Roads under CRIF Scheme beyond Accrual/ Allocation of State(s) during 2019-20 upto the limit of available unspent balance of such State(s) of previous years‟.
11. The Ministry, in its written reply, has provided the following details of quarterly expenditure figures for FY (2019-20):
(Amount Rs. In crore) Item BE 2019-20 Expenditure in first Expenditure up to second Expenditure up to third quarter (April-June, quarter (July-September, quarter (October - 2019) 2019) December, 2019)
Actual Capital 72,058.58 16,061.10 39,134.47 56,197.89 Revenue 10,957.39 267.09 3,619.44 4,654.18
Total 83,015.97 16,328.19 42,753.91 60,852.07 %age 19.67 51.50 73.30
12. The Committee is happy with expenditure of 73.30% of the total allocated amount till the third quarter. However, under-utilization of funds under Capital Outlay for NE Region; Outlay under TSP; Roads of Economic Important & Inter-State Connectivity; Research and Development; Maintenance and Repairs, Development of State/UTs Roads and Road Transport & Road Safety, would mean that these heads would either witness savings or rushing through major expenditure, thus compromising the quality of the projects. 13. The Committee would like to be apprised of the reasons behind less utilization of funds under all these heads during the first three quarters of 2019-20. 14. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should strive for optimum utilization of the funds by spreading the utilization across all the quarters of the financial year so as to ensure quality in the projects as well as adherence to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance issued in this regard.
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15. The Committee has noted the following details of the amount surrendered by the Ministry during 2018-19 and 2019-20:
(Amount Rs. in crore) Year Capital Section Revenue Section Allocation Expenditure Amount Allocation Expenditure Amount surrendered surrendered 2018-19 68,563.69 67,256.58 1,307.11 10,061.82 8,880.07 1,181.75
2019-20 72,058.58 58,448.74 0 10,957.39 4,972.34 0 (Up to 31.01.2020)
16. The Committee would like the Ministry to furnish a detailed note justifying 12% of the Revenue Allocation surrendered in 2018-19.
17. The Committee enquired from the Ministry about the additional funds sought by them at the RE stage during 2019-20. In its written reply, the Ministry provided the following details regarding the demand made at RE stage in 2019-20:
(Amount Rs. in crore)
Sl. Name of the Scheme Demand BE Actual BE Demand at Actual RE No. 2019-20 Provision RE stage 2019-20 2019-20 proposed
1 External Aided Projects 3,361.00 3028.00 3,138.00 2228.00
2. Capital Outlay for NE Region 11,500.00 6070.00 10,507.00 6070.00
3. National Highways (Original) 35,650.00 22850.00 39,161.00 24772.00
4. Outlay under Tribal Area Sub 4,945.00 2610 4,518.00 2610 Plan (TSP)
5. National Highways in Naxalite 240.00 240.00 225.00 225.00 Affected Area (LWE) and Ranchi-Vijayawada Corridor
6. (i) Fund for National Highways 32,000.00 16091.00 36,000.00 16091.00 Authority of India out of CRIF Cess
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(Amount Rs. in crore)
Sl. Name of the Scheme Demand BE Actual BE Demand at Actual RE No. 2019-20 Provision RE stage 2019-20 2019-20 proposed
(ii)Fund for National Highways 10,600.00 10,600.00 10,600.00 10,600.00 Authority of India from Toll Remittance
(iii) Fund for National 10,000.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 Highways Authority of India from Monetization of National Highways Fund
7. Roads of Economic Importance 988.50 500 600.00 400 and Inter-State connectivity
8. Research and Development 98.96 39.28 39.28 39.28
9. Maintenance and Repairs of 6,600.07 3100.07 4,100.07 2100.07 National Highways including Swachhata activities Plan
10. Development of State/UTs 8,807.51 7421.58 7,421.58 7421.58 Roads
11. Road Transport and Road Safety 315.00 280.00 325.00 273.00
12. Secretariat Expenditure 135.00 154.58 154.58 154.58
13. Misc. (Supervision of NHs, 31.46 31.46 31.46 31.46 Charged, development IT etc.)
Total 1,25,272.50 83,015.97 1,26,820.97 83,015.97
18. The Ministry further submitted that it had duly estimated the fund requirements under various schemes for BE 2019-20. However, funds under individual schemes/ heads had to be earmarked within overall BE outlay of Rs. 83,015.97 crore as per inter-se priority as against projected total GBS requirement of Rs. 1,26,772.97 crore.
19. The Committee takes note of the significantly lower allocation made under the head „Maintenance and Repairs of National Highways including Swachhata activities Plan‟ 6
from Rs. 3,100.07 crores at B.E. stage in 2019-20 to Rs. 2,100.07 crores at R.E. stage in 2019-20. The Committee is of the view that severe under-utilization of funds under this head, as is shown in the table under Para 6, led to the drastic cuts under this head which already had been allocated a paltry amount at the B.E. stage in 2019-20. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the gross underutilization of funds under this head.
20. The Ministry has provided the following scheme-wise projected demand, actual allocation and expenditure for the years 2015-16 to 2020-21:
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Statement showing the demand, actual and expenditure from 2015-16 to 2020-21 Amount in Rs. Crore Major Head / Scheme RE Expend RE Exp Demand Actual Exp RE Actual Exp RE Actual Exp BE Proposed Head 2015- 2015-16 2016-17 2016- RE RE 2017-18 2018-19 RE 2018-19 Demand RE 2019-20 Demand BE 2020- 16 17 2017-18 2017-18 Demand 2018-19 2019-20 2019-20 upto Jan 2020-21 21 2020 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) REVENUE SECTION 3054 Maintenance & Repair of 2,702 2,528 2,850 2,503 3,470 2,970 2,655 3,517 2,631 1,797 4,100 2,100 712 5,100 2,600 NHs (cess) 3054 Fund for State/UT Roads 3,207 2,637 7,980 5,816 8,083 7,524 7,045 8,906 7,499 7,259 8,022 7,822 4,342 8,990 7,220 from CRF/CRIF/EI&ISC 3054 Research and Development 68 41 83 17 84 78 8 91 41 9 39 39 24 49 79 3054 Inter Account Transfer - 49 49 44 72 38 38 38 14 14 14 10 10 5 18 18 PBFF States 3055 Road Transport 150 133 144 127 550 171 144 303 258 158 325 273 47 379 379 3451 Secretariat 84 81 102 100 136 120 111 141 127 117 155 155 106 167 167 Capital Section 01.01.53 Capital Outlay for NE Region 4,900 4,846 4,520 4,465 7,260 5,265 5,238 9,195 6,210 5,945 10,507 6,070 2,931 12,815 6,780 01.01.54 NHAI (Investment) - Central 21,020 21,018 7,477 7,410 16,779 15,429 15,429 20,093 16,569 16,567 36,000 16,091 13,856 44,305 20,750 Road Fund 01.02.54 Financed from PBFF - 6,500 6,500 7,500 7,500 8,462 8,462 8,462 9,570 9,570 9,570 10,600 10,600 10,600 12,500 11,500 Investment to NHAI 5054 TOT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9,682 9,682 9,682 10,000 10,000 5,000 12,000 10,250 5054 EAP Loan Part 250 216 290 289 2,017 1,213 1,010 1,712 1,043 741 1,608 1,328 760 3,900 3,200 5054 EAP Counterpart funding 550 547 820 820 829 613 548 1,050 732 428 1,530 900 595 2,081 1,400 5054 NH(O) 6,491 6,335 19,860 19,326 28,575 18,049 18,035 32,996 21,247 21,241 39,165 24,776 22,640 45,004 24,438 04.02.53 Special Programme for 1,121 996 760 739 1,073 1,050 902 4,250 2,985 2,599 4,695 2,835 1,798 5,621 3,025 development of Road Connectivity (NH & State Roads) in LWE affected area incl. Tribal sub plan 04.99.13 Misc (IT, Other Charges, etc) 17 12 18 15 17 17 10 17 18 9 17 17 4 18 17 Total Ministry 47,109 45,940 52,447 49,201 77,375 61,000 59,636 101,537 78,626 76,137 126,773 83,016 63,421 152,947 91,823 IEBR 42,695 23,281 59,279 33,118 59,279 59,279 50,533 62,000 62,000 61,217 75,000 75,000 48,682 65,000 65,000 Grand Total 89,804 69,221 111,726 82,319 136,654 120,279 110,169 163,537 140,626 137,354 201,773 158,016 112,103 217,947 156,823 8
21. The Committee notes that the Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) projection of Rs. 65,000 crore is a decrease over the R.E. 2019-20 IEBR of Rs. 75,000 crore, by 13.33%. Further, the Ministry has only been able to raise about 64.91% of the projected IEBR amount up to January, 2020. The Committee would like to know the precise reasons for the decreased IEBR projection in 2020-21 and recommends that the Ministry may take necessary steps to achieve the targeted IEBR funds. 22. The Committee takes cognizance of the decreased total allocation of Rs. 156,823 crores (including IEBR) in 2020-21, as against Rs. 158,016 crores in 2019-20. The Committee further notes that the target for construction of roads for 2020-21 is 11,000 km – the same target as set for 2019-20. The Committee desires to know as to how the Ministry plans to achieve the same target in 2020-21 with a lower fund allocation. 23. The Committee is distressed to note that while the budgetary allocation to the Ministry has increased to almost double, from Rs. 47,109 crores at R.E. stage in 2015-16 to Rs. 91,823 crores at B.E. stage in 2020-21, the amount earmarked for the „Maintenance and Repair of NHs‟ head has fallen by 3.77%, from Rs. 2702 crores at R.E. 2019-20 to Rs. 2600 crores at B.E. 2020-21. Similarly, the funds allocated for the head „Research and Development‟ has increased from Rs. 68 crores at R.E. stage in 2015-16 to Rs. 79 crores in 2020-21, which in real terms is a very marginal hike (after factoring in inflation). The Committee would like to know the reasons for significantly less than proportionate increase in allocations under both these heads. The Committee is of the view that Maintenance & Repair of Highways and Research & Development are crucial activities in terms of a robust and quality road network across the country. The Committee recommends that increasing the pace of construction of new highways should not be the sole focus of the Ministry. Quality of roads is equally important. 24. The Committee notes that the head „Fund for State/UT Roads from CRF/CRIF/EI&ISC‟ has witnessed a reduced allocation of Rs. 7,220 crores at B.E. 2020-21 as compared to Rs. 7,822 crores at R.E. 2020-21. This, according to the Committee, is a significant reduction, especially in light of the overall increase in the Budget of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Committee would like to know the reasons for this reduced allocation in light of the fact that most State Governments already face shortage of funds for growth and maintenance of their road infrastructure network. 25. The Ministry, in its written reply, has furnished the following details of National Highways / Roads constructed under various Central Road Sector Schemes of the Ministry since 2015-16 to 2019-20 (January, 2020) and average rate of construction per day: -
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Length constructed Average construction rate Year (km) (km per day)
2015-16 6,061 16.61
2016-17 8,231 22.55
2017-18 9,829 26.93
2018-19 10,855 29.74
2019-20 (up to Jan‟2020) 7,925 25.98
26. Detail of ongoing National Highways (NHs) projects since 2015-16 and length of NHs constructed during this period are as follows: Sr. Year Details of ongoing NHs projects in the Length no. beginning of the Financial Year constructed (km) Nos. Length Cost (Rs. (km) Crore) 1. 2015-16 1,135 34,090 2,58,552 6,061 2. 2016-17 1,471 44,775 3,65,419 8,231 3. 2017-18 1,684 57,189 5,48,340 9,829 4. 2018-19 1,495 52,948 6,17,641 10,855 5. 2019-20 (up 1,442 49,622 5,86,751 7,925 (Up to to Jan. 2020) January 2020)
27. The Committee observes that the length completed in 2018-19 is about 10.4% more than the length completed in 2017-18. However, there is a slow pace of growth of annual length constructed in FY 2019-20, despite a 12.36% higher overall RE allocation of Rs. 158,016 crores (including IEBR) in 2019-20, as against Rs. 140,626 crores in 2018-19. 28. The Committee calls upon the Ministry to look into the reasons for the decreasing pace of construction of National Highways in 2019-20 and take effective measures to increase the same during the year 2020-21. 29. The Committee observes that road projects worth Rs. 5,86,751 crores are going on in the country, from the FY 2019-20. The Committee recommends that due care should be taken to ensure that on-ground construction work is initiated only for those projects for which funds are available, especially in case of EPC projects, since stalled projects cause a lot of inconvenience to commuters and local populace alike.
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30. The Ministry has shared the following major activities/ initiatives taken during the year 2019-20:- (a) Promulgation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 in August, 2019. (b) Notification of various amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. (c) A new scheme approved for Implementation of “Development, Customization, Deployment and Management of State-wise vehicle tracking platform for Safety & Enforcement as per AIS 140 Specifications”, in States / UTs under Nirbhaya Framework. (d) Introduction of new World Bank funded project “Reimbursable Advisory Service Agreement (RAS)” for pilot projects in the States for “Augmenting the passenger carrying capacity and improvement in efficiency” of SRTUs for passenger mobility enhancement. (e) Initiation of upgradation of VAHAN and SARTHI in view of the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019. (f) Initiatives for award of new Contracts for audit of instruction of Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety in 16 States. (g) Creation of a web portal „GATI‟ for quick response/decisions from NHAI officials on the project related issues. (h) Finalization of Criteria for State Roads under CRIF Scheme with the approval of Hon‟ble Finance Minister consequent upon amendment of the CRF Act, 2000 to the CRIF Act, 2000 and its further amendment vide Finance Act, 2019. (i) Policy initiatives for targeting to raise funds through InvIt (Investment Infrastructure Trust) and also exploring to raise funds against securitization of toll revenue of certain stretches besides TOT. (j) Decision taken for making all toll plazas on NHs fully ETC enabled providing dedicated FASTag lanes.
31. The Committee takes note of the major activities/initiatives undertaken by the Ministry during the year 2019-20. The Committee hopes these activities/initiatives will be carried on with the same pace and vigour in the year 2020-21.
OUTLAY 2020-21: Demands vis-à-vis Allocations
32. The Ministry has informed that against the projected demand of Rs.1,52,947.16 crore, the proposed BE outlay for 2020-21 is Rs. 91,823.22 crore. In addition, NHAI is proposed to be authorized to raise Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) amounting to Rs. 65,000 crore. The details of projected demand vis-à-vis allocations are tabulated below:-
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Annual Plan 2020-21 (Amount in Rs. crore) Sr. Scheme Projected Budget No. Demand for Allocation 2020-21 (1) (2) (3) Roads Wing (RW) 1 Externally Aided Projects 5,981.00 4,600.00 2 Other Schemes 45,004.00 24,438.06 a NH (O) 45,000.00 24,434.06 b Travel Expenses, Machinery & Equipment 4.00 4.00 3 Development of IT and Other charges 8.00 7.00 4 R&D and Training (a+b) 49.00 79.00 a R&D Planning Studies 9.00 9.00 b Training, Quality Assurance 30.00 50.00 c Professional Services 10.00 20.00 5 Charged Expd. 10.00 10.00 6 NHAI (Investment) 68,805.00 42,500 a NHAI-Central Road and Infrastructure Fund 44,305.00 20,750.00 b NHAI-Toll Remittance, PBFF 12,500.00 11,500.00 c NHAI – Monetization of National Highways Fund 12,000.00 10,250.00 7. PBFF – Toll for States 18.32 18.32 8 Capital Outlay for N-E States 12,815.00 6,780.00 a SARDP-NE 4,210.00 3,650.00 b NH(O) for NE States 8,605.00 3,130.00 9 Capital Outlay for development of road connectivity in LWE affected 5,611.00 3,020.00 areas and other tribal areas a LWE – Non TSP 100.00 100.00 b LWE-TSP 321.00 320.00 c Tribal Sub-Plan - NH works in NE States, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, 5,190.00 2,600.00 Jharkhand, etc. 10 Spl. Grant for Vijaywada-Ranchi Road 10.00 5.00 11 EI&ISC for States /UTs from CRF 800.00 400.00 11 Maintenance of NHs including Swachhta Action Plan 5,100.07 2,600.07 Total for Road Wing 1,44,211.39 84,457.45 13 Road Transport 379.00 379.00 (A) Total Central Sector Road 1,44,590.39 84,836.45 (B) Central Road Fund (CRF) for State Roads for State and UTs 8,190.00 6,820.00 (C) Secretariat Expenditure 166.77 166.77 Grand Total 1,52,947.16 91,823.22
33. The Committee was informed that the Ministry has duly considered the inter-se priority of the schemes while proposing the fund requirements during financial year (FY) 12
2020-21 keeping in view the targets set forth under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-Eastern region (SARDP- NE) including Arunachal Pradesh Package of Roads, improvement of road connectivity in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas including Tribes area, road projects / schemes under Externally Aided Projects (EAP), projects under National Highways (Original) head, etc., for 2020-21 commensurate to the available funds. Additional fund requirements shall be proposed appropriately, either as part of the Supplementary or at RE 2020-21 stage keeping in view the progress of works and estimated fund requirements at that stage.
34. The Committee notes that the gap between the projected requirement of the Ministry and the amount allocated by the Ministry of Finance has further widened to about 40% of the projected requirement at BE stage in 2020-21, as against a gap of 34.5% and 22.5% at RE stage in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. The Committee hopes that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is able to carry out its projects and schemes by considering the inter-se priorities of its projects. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should strive to ensure that the quality of the Ministry‟s projects is not compromised due to availability of limited funds.
ROAD DEVELOPMENT
35. The Ministry has been entrusted with the responsibility of development of Road Transport and Highways in general and construction & maintenance of National Highways (NHs) in particular. All roads other than National Highways in the States fall within the jurisdiction of respective State Governments. In order to assist the State Governments in the development of State roads, Central Government also provides financial assistance out of the Central Road Fund (CRF) and Inter State Connectivity and Economic Importance (ISC & EI) scheme. Besides National Highways development Project (NHDP) & National Highway Interconnectivity Improvement programme (NHIIP), Ministry is implementing SARDP-NE & LWE schemes which includes National Highways and State roads. The Ministry is also responsible for evolving standards and specifications for roads and bridges in the country besides acting as a repository of technical information on roads and bridges. The length of National Highways for which the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India is responsible is 1,32,500 km.
36. The Ministry has further submitted that the National Highways system suffers from capacity constraints, inadequate pavement crust, poor geometrics and lack of safety features. Improvement of National Highways is undertaken by way of widening and strengthening of existing highways, reconstruction / widening of bridges and construction of bypasses after prioritizing the works within available resources.
37. The Committee takes into account the deficiencies pointed out by the Ministry. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should lay greater focus on Research 13
and Development so as to improve poor road geometrics and road safety in its future projects.
38. The Committee notes that there are serious issues with regard to monitoring the quality of the road development projects carried out by the Ministry. The Committee would like the Ministry to conduct a quality audit of its projects for effective quality checks in both construction and maintenance of the projects. The Committee recommends that adequate fund may be allocated for periodic quality checks over different stretches of a road under construction and/or maintenance, during various phases of the project, and also after its completion.
39. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry should chalk out a road quality score mechanism which can be updated throughout the various stages of progress of a road project. This score should be based on the quality of construction material, compliance with safety standards and user feedback. This score would also help in assessing the amount of funds needed to carry out repair works on the road – with roads needing less maintenance getting higher scores. The scoring of road projects should be linked to road contractor‟s portfolio and priority in awarding a road project be given to those contractors with a history of constructing quality road projects.
40. The Committee observes that inputs from stakeholders can help in preparation of DPRs to avoid post-construction issues.
41. The Committee is of the view that the efficiency of Highway alignment in Greenfield projects is much higher than Brownfield projects. The Committee recommends that as per the policy of MoRTH , linear road construction and Greenfield projects should be accorded utmost priority for construction of road projects.
42. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should ensure the inclusion of provision for service roads on both sides across the National Highways network. The Committee feels that important roads with significant traffic load, such as Hyderabad-Kurnool Tollgate to Bengaluru Route Tollgate and other such toll gates, should be given priority. The Committee feels that this would allow smooth passage of city traffic as well as slow speed vehicles and lower the number of road accidents happening on the National Highways.
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
43. The Ministry has informed that various types of M&R works undertaken on NHs are Ordinary Repairs (OR, involving routine maintenance, such as maintenance of culverts, patch/ pot-hole repairs, crack sealing, roadside drainage, repairing of shoulders, etc.), Periodic Renewals (PR, i.e. provision of renewal coat to the wearing surface at a predetermined frequency), Special Repairs (SR, which are urgent works of original
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nature, such as repairs to culverts, bridges, etc.) and Emergent/ Flood Damage Repairs (FDRs, i.e. immediate repairs to roads affected by heavy rains/ flood, cyclone, landslides, sand dunes, etc. to restore traffic). These works are taken up as per available resources and inter-se priority of works to keep the NHs in traffic worthiness. The M&R of NH stretches are carried out for the stretches not covered under any programme or completed stretches where there are no liabilities of contractors to maintain such stretches.
44. For the NH stretches developed on EPC mode (Engineering, Procurement, Construction), the contractor is responsible for remedying the defects and concurrent maintenance of project highway during the four years defect liability period after completion of the work. For NH stretches developed on BOT mode/ HAM, the Concessionaire is responsible for the maintenance of the project highway during the concession period. For some of the developed NH stretches through public funding, maintenance contracts have been taken up for a definite time period (4 to 9 years) on Operate, Maintenance and Transfer (OMT) basis. The maintenance of the project highway under OMT contracts is the responsibility of the concessionaire.
45. With regard to the maintenance of National Highways, the allocations that are available annually for M&R of NHs are of the order of about 40% of the actual requirements as per the Ministry‟s stipulated norms based on the Report of the Committee (2001) (i.e. available allocations are of the order of about Rs. 2,520 crore as against the estimated fund requirement of Rs. 5,000 crore as per the Ministry‟s Norms for Maintenance of NHs). 46. The Committee strongly recommends that a mechanism should be established to periodically monitor the quality of Highways. A policy framework should be set in place to ensure that repair works and maintenance of Highways are carried out within a prescribed timeframe so as to ensure certain minimum standards of pliability on the Highways.
47. The Ministry has informed the Committee that against RE 2019-20 projected demand of Rs. 4,100 crore for Maintenance & Repair of NHs including Swachhta Activities, funds to the tune of Rs. 2,100 crore were actually proposed at RE 2019-20 stage. There was a projected demand of Rs. 5,100 crore for Maintenance & Repair of NHs including Swachhta Activities for the year 2020-21 against which the outlay proposed is Rs. 2,600 crore. Surprisingly, the Ministry has informed that the outlay proposed for Maintenance & Repair of NHs including Swachhta Activities at BE 2020-21 are sufficient at this stage and additional requirements, if any, shall be appropriately proposed at RE stage.
48. The Committee fails to understand how the Ministry terms the outlay proposed for Maintenance & Repair of NHs to be sufficient at this stage when the outlay has been reduced to half of the projected amount. The Committee feels that even the Rs. 5,100 crore demand, which comes to merely 3.3% of the Ministry‟s overall projected demand at BE stage in 2020-21, is grossly inadequate to meet the maintenance requirements of the vast National Highways network in India, which continues to be
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ill-maintained and riddled with pot-holes and other maintenance issues.
49. The Ministry has submitted that it is taking up the monetisation of the completed NHs stretches on Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model to generate funds. In projects under Operation and Maintenance (O&M), the Concessionaire / contractor is required to follow the relevant specifications with clearly laid down timelines for different activities e.g. filling of pots, repairing the shoulders etc.
50. So far as minimizing financial liability of the Govt. for M&R activities is concerned, the inter-se priority for carrying out Maintenance and Repair (M&R) of NHs generally depends upon nature and extent of damages, overall condition of NH stretches, traffic density, minimum works required to be undertaken to ensure traffic worthiness of NHs, status of action taken up for new developmental works, availability of funds, etc. The NH stretches under Defect Liability Period (DLP) obligation or stretches under Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT)/ Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM)/ Operate, Maintenance and Transfer (OMT) Concessions, ongoing works on NHs are responsibility of the respective concessionaires. The details of Fund allocated and expenditure for M&R of NHs is as under:-
(Amount in Rs. Crore) Year Allocation* Expd.* 2014-15 2,599.25 2,534.24 2015-16 2,698.40 2,527.99 2016-17 2,846.53 2,502.99 2017-18 2,966.75 2,654.78 2018-19 2,631.00 1,680.00 2019-20 (up to 31.01.2020) 3,000.00 711.81 2020-21 2,520.00 -
51. The Committee is distressed to note that only Rs. 711.81 crores out of the BE 2019-20 allocation of Rs. 3,000 crore has been spent by the Ministry up to 31st January, 2020. The Committee feels that the fund allocation available to the Ministry for Maintenance and Repairs is already a miniscule amount compared to the large network of NHs to be serviced by this amount and 76% under-utilization of even this allocation is a matter of grave concern. It questions the efficiency of the scheme and the commitment of the Ministry towards maintenance of highways in the country. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind this severe under-utilization of funds and the measures envisaged/implemented may be taken to ensure optimal utilization of the funds in the future.
52. Further, the details of sanction of works under PR/IRQP works is as under:
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Length in km, Amount in Rs. crore Sr. No. Year Length Cost 1 2016-17 4,679 4,403 2 2017-18 1,497 590 3 2018-19 1,825 915 4 2019-20 (upto December, 2019) 950 662
53. In addition to above, 16 nos. of contract for 2,388 km are under progress for maintenance of NHs developed through public funding under Operate – Maintain – Toll (OMT) by NHAI.
54. The Committee is concerned to note the decreasing length and cost of works sanctioned under Periodic Renewal (PR) / Improvement of Riding Quality Programme (IRQP) in the past few years. Even when combined with NH stretches covered under Operate-Maintain-Toll model by NHAI, the total NH stretches covered for maintenance is still miniscule in comparison to the overall NH network in India. The Committee, therefore, recommends that maintenance and repair of existing NH network in the country should be given utmost priority since the same holds the key to road safety as well. So, focus of the Ministry should be not only on its length, but also on enhancing the quality of the NH network in the country.
55. The Committee observes that the „Strategy for New India @ 75‟, NITI Aayog advocates that India should begin with earmarking 10 percent of its annual budget for Road and Highways for maintenance, to move towards the developed country norm of earmarking 40 percent to 50 percent of the budget for roads and highways for maintenance. The Committee notes that instead of earmarking 10 percent of the annual budget for maintenance, the allocation for maintenance and repairs have witnessed a decrease at BE stage in 2020-21. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should strive to earmark greater share of funds for M&R in future so as to improve the condition of Highways in the country.
56. The Committee takes note of the initiatives taken by the Ministry for carrying out maintenance of National Highways, but a lot needs to be done to keep our Highways network safe and pliable. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should lay greater focus on maintenance and repair of Highways in the coming years and higher allocations be made under this head in future.
57. The Committee recommends that latest technology should be employed to monitor the quality and pliability of roads. A user interface may be developed in the form of smartphone application and/or website to permit Highway users to report potholes on the Highways and steps may be taken to ensure timely action on the
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same. The Committee further recommends that there should be strict accountability about the condition of the roads which may be shared by the authority in-charge for ensuring the quality of the road as well as the concessionaire carrying out the road project.
EXPRESSWAYS AND ECONOMIC CORRIDORS
58. As per Budget Speech, 2020, accelerated development of 2500 km access control highways, 9000 km of economic corridors, 2000 km of coastal and land port roads and 2000 km of strategic highways, will be undertaken. The Ministry has informed that as a part of Bharatmala, 2350 km of expressways have been planned, out of which award for 497 km has already been awarded. Out of the remaining 1,853 km, balance award for 813 km length will be awarded in the current Financial Year and another 1,040 km will be awarded in FY 20-21.
Completed / Length to Under be Implementation Total Awarded Total Length Awarded Sr. Before Expressway Length under Under BM 1 till 31st Jan, No. Approval of (km) Bharatmala 2020 (km) Bharatmala Pariyojana Pariyojana (km) (km) A B C D E=C-D F Delhi Eastern Peripheral 1 135 135 - - Expressway - completed Ahmedabad - Vadodara 2 93 93 -- - Expressway - completed Delhi - Meerut 3 60 60 - - Expressway Delhi - Mumbai (Delhi - 4 844 844 372 Vadodara Section) EXP Delhi - Mumbai (Vadodara 5 447 447 124 - Mumbai Section) EXP Ahmedabad - Dholera 6 110 110 EXP Delhi - Amritsar - Katra 7 600 600 EXP 8 Bengaluru - Chennai EXP 272 272 9 Kanpur - Lucknow EXP 75 75 Total 2,638 288 2,350 497
59. In addition to 2,350 km of Expressways 5,248 km of access-controlled alignments have been identified for key Economic Corridors as well to augment capacity on high 18
traffic density stretches of National Corridors. Out of this 5,248 km, 811 km has already been awarded under Bharatmala Pariyojana. Out of the remaining length of 4,437 km for award, 445 km will be awarded in the current financial year and 3,992 km will be awarded over the next two financial years.
60. The Committee notes that despite having the second largest road network in the world, India still lags behind in terms of length of Expressways. The Committee feels that Expressways are a crucial infrastructure requirement to ensure fast and seamless connectivity between the economic hubs of the country, as a large amount of cargo and passengers across the country travel by road. The Committee recommends the Ministry to work out plans for more Expressways in the country. Special attention may be given to road quality and safety standards on Expressways since the vehicles travel at a fast speed and with low reaction time available to the drivers, wherein even the slightest fault in the road geometrics could lead to fatal accidents.
61. The Committees notes that the proposal for Greenfield project from Sonpur- Rewaghat to Dumaria Ghat connecting Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Nepal Border is the kind of Greenfield projects which should be given top priority as Express Highways under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
62. The Ministry, in its written reply, informed that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway consists of 52 packages with a total length of 1,351 km including Delhi Faridabad Sohna (Spur to Delhi with 3 packages) and Spur to JNPT (5 packages). Out of these 52 packages, 18 packages with project length 497 km have already been awarded and 26 packages with project length 679 km are currently under bidding. The project status is given in the table below:-
Length in km Under Bids yet to be Awarded Total Section Bidding invited Pkg Length Pkg Length Pkg Length Pkg Length Delhi Faridabad Sohna 3 60 3 60 (Spur to Delhi) Delhi-Mumbai 18 497 23 619 3 84 44 1,200 Expressway Spur to JNPT 5 91 5 91
Total 18 497 26 679 8 175 52 1351
63. The Committee would like to know the present status of land acquisition and environmental/forest clearances for the 1351 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The Committee feels that this is a vital project for improving the road connectivity between the two economic hotspots of the country and hopes that all efforts are 19
made to ensure the timely completion of this project. The Committee further recommends that given the immense length and potential of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, mechanisms may be put in place to ensure that quality standards are maintained throughout the entire stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
FUNDING OF ROAD SECTOR PROJECTS 64. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed the Committee that as per IEBR approved for 2019-20, NHAI is to raise Rs. 75,000 Cr. through various sources. The details in this regard are as under:
Sr. Particulars Amount (as Amount raised No. approved by till 31.01.2020 NHAI Board) * (Rs. Crore) 1 54 EC Bonds 5,000 3,556 2 LIC/EPFO/Bharatmala 20,000 29,326 Bonds/Private placement of taxable bonds 3 Term Loan (SBI) 7,000 5,000 4 NSSF 40,000 10,000 5 Masala Bonds 3,000 - 6 Bond ETF - 800 Total : 75,000* 48,682 * Amount are interchangeable Monetisation of Assets through Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) Model:
65. The Ministry has conceptualised an innovative way for raising funds through Monetisation of completed Road Assets under Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) Model. The scheme envisages bidding of bundled national highways for a concession period of 30 years. The first bundle comprised of 9 projects, totalling 681 km of roads in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. It was awarded in 2018 to Macquarie for Rs. 9,681 Crore, which was about 1.5 times the NHAI's estimates. The second bundle comprising over 586 kms spread over four States – Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and Bihar was also placed in the market which was, however, restructured thereafter. The third bundle comprising 9 projects totalling 566.27 km of road in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, was awarded in November 2019 to M/s. Cube Mobility Investment Fund Pvt. Ltd, for which the Concession Agreement was also signed on 27.12.2019 with 9 SPVs. The bid for fourth bundle of TOT comprises of 6 projects, totaling 341.58 km length of roads in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP & UT of J&K was recently invited with Bid due date of 13.02.2020. The Cabinet has given its approval to the amendments proposed in the TOT Model and henceforth, Public funded National Highway projects which are operational and have toll revenue generation history of one year after the Commercial Operations Date can be monetized through the TOT Model. Under this, the right of collection of Toll Fees for operational public-funded NH projects is to be assigned for a 20
pre-determined period to the Concessionaires (developers/ investors) against upfront payment of a lump-sum amount. O&M obligations of such projects would rest with the Concessionaires until the completion of the period under TOT Model. The CCEA has also given approval to NHAI for raising funds from banks through securitization of user fees.
66. The Committee was informed that 3 bundles have been planned for a cumulative amount of Rs. 10,000 Crore in financial year 2019-20. The first bundle (TOT-3) for Rs. 5,011 Crore has been successfully awarded. Bid for second Bundle (TOT-4) for Rs. 2,165.77 Crore is expected by February and the third Bundle (TOT-5) for Rs. 2,800 Crore is also expected to be called within this financial year. 67. The Committee appreciates the approval of the proposed amendments to the TOT model allowing operational NH projects with toll revenue generation history of one year to be monetized through the TOT model and hopes that the same would enable the Ministry to raise more funds for its projects. The Committee desires that monitoring mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that the O&M obligations which rest with the concessionaires for such projects, are carried out with due earnest. 68. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into the apprehensions of the concessionaires with regard to the TOT model so as to make the TOT bundles attractive for more private players and thus generate higher funds. 69. The Committee may be apprised of the target set for raising funds under the TOT model for the FY 2020-21 and how the Ministry plans to achieve the same. 70. The Ministry, in its written reply, has stated that NHAI had raised Rs. 3,000 Crore through Masala Bonds in May 2017. NHAI had set up its MTN (Medium Term Note) programme for an amount of Rs. 25,000 Crore intended to be raised in tranches through rupee denominate bonds and also other currency. Since the interest for Masala bonds is expected to be higher than domestic borrowing, NHAI did not yet raise funds through Masala Bonds in the current FY. The MTN is required to be updated, which is under process. NHAI may conduct the Non- deal/deal road show in the month of Feb/March 2020 as per advice of the Joint Lead Managers.
71. Regarding the private sector participation/ investments in the road infrastructure sector in India, the Ministry has furnished the following figures for the last five years: Year Amount (Rs. in crores) 2014-15 17,293 2015-16 27,368 2016-17 15,454 2017-18 16,414 2018-19 21,605
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2019-20 up to Jan, 2020 19,151
72. The Ministry further informed that in order to attract better Private Sector Participation, NHAI has initiated the process of amending the Model Concession Agreement for BOT Projects.
73. In reply to the Committee‟s observations about the Ministry‟s failure to regenerate similar private sector participation as witnessed in 2015-16, the Ministry, in its written reply, informed that there has been a sharp decline in the private sector participation due to failure of projects awarded during 2010-11 & 2011-12 and when the Ministry decided to award works on EPC Mode, there was decline in the participation of private sector in road projects. Thereafter, a new mode of contract for reviving the participation of private sector i.e., Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) was introduced. As on date, 125 works amounting to Rs. 1,39,136/- crore have been awarded under HAM. This is expected to increase participation of private sector in road projects. Besides, a new mode i.e., TOT has also been introduced last year under which two packages have been bid out successfully and the response is encouraging. To revive BOT Mode in Highway sector, meetings at various levels involving stakeholders have been conducted and modifications in the Model Concession Agreement have been initiated. All the above steps are expected to increase participation of private sector to the desired level.
74. As per Economic Survey 2019-20, total investment in the Road and Highway sector has gone up more than three times in five year period of 2014-15 to 2018-19. It has been mentioned that whereas total budgetary support and IEBR has raised from Rs. 0.29 lakh crore and Rs. 0.03 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 0.76 lakh crore and Rs. 0.61 lakh crore respectively in 2018-19, private sector investment has only marginally increased from Rs. 0.19 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 0.22 lakh crore in 2018-19.
75. The Committee notes that after a sudden spike in private investments in 2015-16, the Ministry has not been able to replicate its success in the following years. The Committee recommends that given the crucial need for private investment in the road infrastructure sector, the Ministry may look into the reasons behind the declining private interest and work out solutions to regain the same.
76. The Committee notes the declining private sector investment for the road sector and feels that increasing the Gross Budgetary Support every year is not suitable for sustained growth. The Committee, therefore, recommends that viable measures may be taken to rekindle private sector interest in road infrastructure sector.
77. On a query regarding the projected requirement of the Ministry under National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for its road infrastructure projects from FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25 and plans to raise the amount required, the Ministry has informed that the Year- wise estimated Capital Outlay for National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) of projects for NHs are as follows:- (Amount in Rs. crore) 22
FY 20 FY 21 FY 22 FY 23 FY 24 FY 25 Total
2,42,970 2,59,638 2,51,675 1,72,465 1,70,238 2,80,411 13,77,397
78. The Ministry has further informed that the tentative funding arrangements from various sources for funding NIP for NHs upto 2024-25 are as follows: -
Amount in Rs. Crore CRIF GBS- TOT Toll Addl. IEBR/ Total SARDP- Remittances GBS Market NE, EAP, Borrowing etc. 4,07,322 1,12,176 86,182 1,04,024 2,82,615 3,85,078 13,77,397
79. The Committee notes that though the Ministry plans to raise Rs. 86,182 crore by monetizing its assets under the TOT model, there are apprehensions as to how the Ministry would raise an average of Rs. 14,363 crores in each financial year – a figure significantly higher than the 3 bundles planned for a cumulative amount of Rs. 10,000 Crore in financial year 2019-20.
80. The Ministry furnished the following details of the road projects (length and projected cost) it has awarded under BOT (Toll/Annuity), EPC and HAM modes for the Financial Years 2014-15 to 2019-20:
Length in km, Amount in Rs. crore EPC HAM BOT Year Length Cost Length Cost Length Cost 2014-15 6,022 43,889 5 46 734 6,306 2015-16 6,793 83,527 427 10,260 912 13,036 2016-17 8,445 82,238 2,628 39,622 469 5,942 2017-18 10,844 121,660 3,383 72,771 210 3,733 2018-19 3,453 43,279 870 18,352 62 334 2019-20 (up to Jan 3,108 44,872 40 736 7 2,680 2020)
81. The Committee notes that the share of HAM projects has decreased from 36.72% of the Rs. 198,164 crore projects awarded in 2017-18, to a mere 1.5% of the Rs. 48,288 crore projects awarded up to January, 2020 in the FY 2019-20. This indicates that in terms of cost, 93% of the road projects awarded in FY 2019-20 have been awarded under the EPC model. The Committee is concerned to note that this significant shift towards the EPC model marks a heavy decrease in the private 23
sector investment in the present financial year. The Committee notes that the HAM model had been brought to generate the interest of private sector, but it seems to be failing miserably since 2018-19. The Committee would like to know the reasons for the rejection of HAM model for the projects awarded in 2019-20 and how the Ministry plans to factor in the concerns of the private sector to iron out the kinks in the HAM model in the upcoming years.
82. The Ministry apprised the Committee about the decision of Central Government to grant 100% tax exemptions for Sovereign Wealth Funds for their investments in infrastructure sector and stated that the same is expected to give a boost to the infra investments in India. Availability of tax exemption for foreign Sovereign Wealth Funds is likely to help public sector entities in their asset monetization drive including NHAI‟s initiatives. These initiatives through formation of SPVs and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) in addition to investment opportunities for TOT mode, are expected to raise equity from big investors/international fund houses who are willing to invest in highway projects but are wary of taking construction risk. NHAI is presently in the process of evolving an alternative financing mechanism to fund Greenfield Projects and High Cost Brownfield projects through formation of SPVs with the help of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Besides the exemption, abolition of dividend distribution tax (DDT) will also give benefits to the global yield-seeking infrastructure investors in India.
83. The Committee welcomes the move to grant 100% tax exemption for Sovereign Wealth Funds to attract investments from across the globe and help finance the ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline program. The Committee hopes that steps will be taken to minimize delays on road projects funded by Sovereign Wealth Funds so as to present the Indian Road Infrastructure Sector as a profitable venture for attracting higher investments in the future.
INCREASING DEBT OF NHAI
84. The Ministry, in its written reply to a query regarding its plans to repay the burgeoning debts of NHAI, stated that apart from ToT model, NHAI is targeting to raise funds through InvIt (Investment Infrastructure Trust) after approval of CCEA.
85. With regard to InvIT, the Ministry, in its Annual Report, has stated that NHAI has been given the mandate to set up an InvIT to monetize its completed stretches of public funded national highways with the objective of mobilizing additional resources through capital markets. NHAI will be able to securitise future cash inflows through an InvIT, as it allows the organisation to monetize illiquid and stable cash generating infrastructure assets. It will attract long-term capital, allowing the investors to have an indirect exposure in the project(s). This proposition is more attractive for foreign investors, which are hesitant to take direct exposure in highway projects. Intermediaries for NHAI InvIT are being appointed. Identification of project stretches for placing under NHAI InvIT, is under process. As per the approved timelines, InvIT may go for issue in May, 2020. 24
NHAI has also been exploring the possibility of securitization of toll revenue so as to get long term borrowings from the banks etc.
86. Out of three TOT bundles (1, 2 & 3), for which bids were invited by NHAI, two TOT bundles (1 & 3) were awarded and TOT bundle 2 was not awarded due to low quote despite of 3 bids were received. Since ToT model provided opportunity for different categories of investors like institutional investors including pension & insurance funds, sovereign funds etc., 3 to 4 bids were received in previous three TOT bundles.
87. The Committee hopes that the proposed securitization of toll revenue, TOT model and InvIT would help NHAI in dealing with its burgeoning debts. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the tepid response received to the TOT bundles in the present Financial Year.
88. The Ministry has informed the Committee that the amount of debts NHAI has to repay as on date is Rs. 228,251 crore. In reply to a query regarding the amount of funds that have been used to service the existing debts, the Ministry has informed that the repayment of debt has not yet become due, except the 54EC Bonds which are redeemed after 3 years from the deemed date of allotment. The amount of redemption of 54 EC Bonds during the last 3 years is as under:-
Year Rs. in Crore
2016-17 2942
2017-18 3343
2018-19 4281
2019-20 (till February, 2020) 4693
89. The Ministry has further furnished the following detail of repayment due in next 5 years:-
FY Rs. in Crore (including interest)
2020-21 24,108
2021-22 34,846
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2022-23 24,542
2023-24 24,301
2024-25 21,659
90. The Committee is concerned to note that the amount of debt NHAI has to repay as on date, is more than twice the present annual budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The debt servicing cost is estimated to rise up to Rs. 34,846 crore in the FY 2021-22 and would continue to be a sizeable figure in the following years. The Committee feels that the NHAI needs to take urgent proactive measures to solve its financial issues. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should constitute an Advisory Committee, to look into the issues pertaining to the increasing debt of NHAI and the efficacy of the measures being taken by the Ministry and NHAI, in order to monetize their assets, to come out of the present debt trap. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may consider the feasibility of implementing strong measures such as hiking the toll charges across the country and postponing certain projects to later dates, since the present financial health of NHAI is not sustainable in the long run and would create bigger issues in the road infrastructure sector in the future.
WORKS UNDER ROADS WING 91. The Ministry has submitted that the following Heads/schemes of roads works are covered under the Head “ Works under Road Wing”: (i) EAP Loan and EAP Counterpart funding
(ii) National Highways Original funded from CRIF and GBS
(iii) Domestic Travel Expenses for supervision of National Highways
(iv) Roads of LWE affected area and Tribal sub-plan
(v) Development of Information of technology and other charges
(vi) Charged Head
92. Allocation and expenditure in respect of the above schemes for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 is given as under: (Amount Rs. in crore) Year Name of the scheme Allocation of fund Expenditure (Revised Estimates) 2018-19 EAP and Counter part funding 1,775.00 1,168.79
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Year Name of the scheme Allocation of fund Expenditure (Revised Estimates) NH(O) provision under MH-5054 21,246.81 21,241.18 Including DTE LWE affected area including 2,985.00 2,599.43 Vijayawada-Ranchi Road and Tribal Sub Plan Information Technology and Other 8.25 8.13 Charges Charged Head 10.00 0.80 Total= 26,025.06 25,018.33
2019-20 Expenditure upto January, 2020 EAP and Counter part funding 2,228.00 1,355.11 NH(O) provision under MH-5054 24,776.00 22,640.43 Including DTE LWE affected area including 2835 1797.61 Vijayawada-Ranchi Road and Tribal Sub Plan Information Technology and Other 7.00 4.48 Charges Charged Head 10.00 0 Total= 29,856.00 25,797.63
93. The Committee notes a pattern of severe under-utilization of funds under the scheme „EAP and Counter part funding‟ during the years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Committee would like to be apprised of the reasons behind this underutilization. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may coordinate with the State Governments involved, if any, to ensure optimal utilization under this head.
94. The Committee notes that BE 2019-20 allocation of Rs. 25721.00 crore for the head Works under Roads Wing was increased to Rs. 26628.00 crore at the RE stage. This amount has been slightly increased to Rs. 27,480.06 crores at B.E. 2020-21. The Ministry has furnished the following details regarding the Scheme-wise allocation and expenditure under these schemes for the year 2019-20 and proposed allocation for 2020-21:
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(Amount Rs. in crore) Name of the scheme B.E 2019- Proposed Expd. Proposed 20 RE upto Jan, BE 2020- allocation 2020 21 2019-20 NH(O) provision under MH-5054 22,854.00 24,776.00* 22,640.43 24,438.06 including DTE LWE affected area including 2,850.00 2835 1,797.61 3,025.00 Vijayawada-Ranchi Road and Tribal Sub Plan Information Technology and Other 7.00 7.00 4.48 7.00 Charges Charged Head 10.00 10.00 00 10.00 Total 25,721.00 27,628.00 24,442.52 27,480.06 *A proposal for additional requirement of Rs.1000 crore under NH(O) has been sent through 2nd supplementary demands for grants.
95. During FY 2019-20 up to the period ending January, 2020, NHs/ road projects of about 3,509 km length were awarded and construction of about 7,925 km length was completed. The Ministry has informed that the proposal for additional fund requirement, if any, shall be appropriately projected at RE stage.
96. The Committee appreciates that 91.38% of the total allocation has been spent by the Ministry under NH(O) till January, 2020. The Committee, however, notes that there has been a slight reduction under NH(O) in BE 2020-21 as compared to RE 2019-20, even when the Ministry has been able to spend almost the entire amount allocated for this head in 2019-20. The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should request the Ministry of Finance for higher allocation under this head at the RE 2020-21 stage.
ACQUISITION OF LAND 97. On the issue of land acquisition process for road infrastructure projects, the Ministry, in its written reply, has stated that a thorough analysis of the then existing Land Acquisition (LA) notification and payment of compensation process indicated delays on account of errors, in-complete documentation, in-correct notifications etc. was conducted. In order to mitigate the same, an integrated land acquisition system “Bhoomi Rashi Portal” has been introduced to streamline and automate the process. An extensive training programme has been conducted in all State capitals for CALAs and other concerned State Govt. officials as well as officers of MoRTH and NHAI. Payment of compensation to beneficiary accounts directly has also been automated in respect of projects under MoRTH and a similar process is under implementation by NHAI.
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98. The Ministry has submitted that since land is a State subject, the following steps are being taken to coordinate with the States to solve land acquisition issues: - (a) Constitution of High Powered Committee under Chief Secretary to monitor the pre-construction activities. (b) Strengthening of Land Acquisition Units by way of providing manpower and resources. (c) Effective formal public consultations at the time of project preparation to address the concerns of public. (d) Introduction of Centralized LA Account for efficient monitoring of disbursement of LA compensation. (e) Monthly meetings with the District Authorities and Nodal Officers of the State Government along with the Competent Authorities. (f) Periodic monitoring of progress through PMIS, PRAGATI portal etc. (g) Adopting light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology for finalizing alignment during preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR).
99. The Committee takes note of the various initiatives taken by the Ministry to streamline the land acquisition process. While the introduction of Bhoomi Rashi Portal and the other initiatives taken by the Ministry will resolve issues pertaining to land acquisition, the Committee still feels that a lot more needs to be done. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may monitor the impact of its initiatives in this regard and that the feedback collected in respect thereto may be used to find more effective solutions to the land acquisition issues faced in the projects. The Committee further recommends that efforts may be made to sort out issues with the stakeholders before the same landing up in Court, for litigations inevitably lead to more delays and higher project costs.
100. The Committee recommends that while sorting out the land acquisition issues, the Ministry may also explore the feasibility of roping in interested land owners, whose land has been acquired for projects of the Ministry, for providing wayside amenities to Highway users with monetary support from the Ministry/NHAI.
101. The Committee, while taking cognizance of an exorbitant rise in land acquisitions cost per hectare for road infrastructure projects, sought to know the trend of land acquisition cost per hectare in the last few years. The Ministry has furnished the following details regarding expenditure incurred for land acquisition and average rate of land acquisition during the last 6 years:-
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Year Area of land Amount (Rs. Average rate (Rs/ acquired (Ha) Crore) Crore per Ha) 2013-14 8,465 7,794 0.92 2014-15 6,733 9,098 1.35 2015-16 9,285 21,933 2.36 2016-17 7,491 17,823 2.38 2017-18 9,494 29,200 3.07 2018-19 13,982 34,527 2.47 2019-20 (target) 8,000 25,000 3.13
102. The Committee notes that the average rate of land acquisition has increased significantly from about Rs. 0.92 Crore/ Ha in 2013-14 to Rs. 3.13 crore per Ha in 2019- 20, registering an increase of 240%.
103. The Ministry apprised the Committee that the increase in land acquisition cost per hectare is on account of implementation of the provisions relating to compensation given in Schedule 1 of RFCTLARR Act, 2013 to land acquisitions under NH Act, 1956 with effect from 01.01.2015. In addition, some of the State Governments have also revised circle rates with passage of time.
104. The Committee notes with deep concern that the steeply rising land acquisition costs would lead to significantly higher costs of the road projects. The Committee recommends that this rise in land cost may be factored in while setting the long term targets of the Ministry to be funded by the National Infrastructure Pipeline.
DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS UNDER NH(O) 105. The Ministry, in its written reply, has stated that development works on the National Highways entrusted with State PWDs (which are not covered under any approved programmes), are taken up through the Annual Plan of works during every financial year. Various types of development works on NHs, such as widening, strengthening of weak pavements, construction of missing links, construction/rehabilitation/reconstruction of bridges, culverts, bypasses and improvement of riding qualities etc., are identified and included in the list of Annual Plan of National Highways (Original) [NH (O)] works, well in advance at the beginning of a particular financial year in the order of priority.
106. Apart from this, cost of project preparation and pre-construction activities for non- NHDP projects proposed to be undertaken through proposed External Assistance is also to be met from NH (O). The aggregate length of such NHs not covered under any scheme/ programme is about 61,300 km. 107. The status of fund allocation to NH(O) is as under:-
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(Amount in Rs. Crore) BE 2019-20 RE 2019-20 BE 2020-21 (Proposed) (proposed) NH(O) – States/UTs 22,850.00 24,772.00 24,434.06 Additional NH(O) for North East (NE)States 700.00 2,390.00 3,130.00 Tribal Sub-Plan - NH works in NE States, 1,900.00 2,360.00 2,600.00 Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, etc. Total 25,450.00 29,522.00 30,164.06
108. The Committee appreciates the trend of higher allocation of Rs. 2,390 crores at RE 2019-20 stage for „Additional NH(O) for North East States‟ as against Rs. 700 crores in BE 2019-20, which has increased significantly to Rs. 3,130 crores at B.E. stage in 2020-21. The Committee hopes that the enhanced funds will not only allow the Ministry to complete its pending projects in the North-Eastern States, but also help in initiating new projects in the region.
109. The Ministry furnished the following details of the targets and achievements in various types of development works under National Highways (Original) head for the last 5 years:
Sr. No. Year Target (km) Achievement (km) 1 2014-15 1,830 1,743 2 2015-16 3,250 2,076 3 2016-17 4,500 3,364 4 2017-18 5,250 4,911 5 2018-19 5,000 6,189 110. The Committee appreciates the constant increase in target as well as achievements made in various types of development works under NH(O) head.
111. Achievements under NH(O) during 2019-20 up to December, 2019. Completion Construction (km) 3,684 km Improvement of Riding Quality (km) 567 km Bridges / ROBs / RUBs (No.) 95 Nos.
112. The following targets under NH(O) for 2020-21 have been envisaged:-
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Completion Construction 6,345 km Bridges / ROBs / RUBs 120 Nos.
113. The Committee is not aware of the target the Ministry had set under the head NH(O) for the FY 2019-20. However, achievement of the target of 3,684 km during 2019-20 is certainly far-below the achievements of 6,189 km works achieved during FY 2018-19. 114. The Committee observes that although the aggregate length of NHs not covered under any scheme/programme is about 61,300 km, the length of NHs targeted under the Improvement of Riding Quality Programme (IRQP) is a meagre 567 km. The Committee desires to know why only 567 km has been targeted. The Committee recommends that significantly higher amount may be earmarked for this programme so as to ensure better maintenance on a much greater length of those NHs which are otherwise not covered under any scheme/programme. 115. The Committee may be apprised of the target the Ministry has set for the IRQP programme under NH(O) for the FY 2020-21.
EXTERNALLY AIDED PROJECTS (EAP)
116. The Ministry has informed that in RE 2019-20, an allocation of Rs. 1328.00 crore has been made under the head EAP Component which got substantially increased to Rs. 3200 crore in BE 2020-21. With regard to utilization of the enhanced allocation under this head, the Ministry, in its written reply, apprised that a new World Bank project is proposed to be implemented from FY 2020-21. As per the proposed construction program, budget for an amount of Rs. 953.3 cr. for new works under GNHCP is proposed in FY 2020-21. In addition, most of the works proposed to be implemented under JICA by NHIDCL in NER zone have been awarded and are likely to be started in FY 2020-21. Keeping in view these works, EAP component has been increased for FY 2020-21.
117. The Committee is happy to note that the Ministry has secured higher allocation under the head Externally Aided Projects and hopes that the Ministry will make optimal use of the funds during FY 2020-21.
118. The Ministry, in its written reply, has furnished the following details with regard to the ongoing Externally Aided Projects:
A. World Bank:
Total Length 1067 km Total Project Cost Rs. 6461 crore
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Length completed 868 km Scheduled Completion date 30.06.2020 Likely completion date 31.10.2020 Bottlenecks, if any Out of 15 projects, 08 projects have been completed, 02 projects are in an advanced stage of completion and balance 05 projects are likely to be completed by October, 2020. There are land acquisition issues in 04 projects being executed in the State of Bihar; it is expected that land acquisition issues in respect of NH-104 (lot-1, Lot-2, Lot-3) would be resolved by March, 2020. However, the land acquisition issue in respect of NH-30A for construction of bypasses at Barh and Daniyawan is yet to be resolved and keeping in view the loan period closing date of 30.06.2020, the construction of these bypasses have been de-scoped from the scope of the work. Further, 3 projects in Bihar and 1 project in Karnataka are delayed due to financial constraints of the Contractors. The Contractor engaged in these projects are currently under the purview of NCLT. Now, the Contractors have engaged sub-contractors as per the provision of Contract agreement to complete the balance work. At present, the works at all the projects are in progress.
B. JICA
B-1 Projects in the State of Bihar: (i). Bihar National Highway Improvement Project (NH-82) Total Length 92.93 km Total Project Cost Rs. 2138 crore Length completed 47 km Scheduled Completion date 05.11.2019 Likely completion date 31.03.2021 Bottlenecks, if any As on date out of 93 km length, only 73 km length has been handed over to the contractor. The State Government has been requested to expedite land acquisition process.
(ii). Bihar National Highway Improvement Project (NH-83) Total Length 127.217 km Total Project Cost Rs. 1231.98 crore Length completed 13.47 km
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Scheduled Completion date 09.04.2018 Likely completion date 31.12.2021 Bottlenecks, if any The project was delayed due to non-availability of land and also poor progress of the Contractor. Now, it has been decided to foreclose the Contract of the existing Contractor i.e. IL&FS Engineering Construction Company Ltd. The project has been divided into 3 packages and tenders have been invited. These packages are likely to be awarded by March 2020.
B-2 JICA Phase-I Total Length 402.66 km Total Project Cost Rs. 6115.24 crore Length completed 2 km Scheduled Completion date July, 2023 Bottlenecks, if any Land acquisition in the state of Meghalaya and Mizoram is slow. Out of 9 packages, 7 packages commenced till date.
B-3 JICA Phase-II Total Length 95.56 km Total Project Cost Yet to be sanctioned Length completed - Scheduled Completion date - Bottlenecks, if any Land acquisition is in progress.
B-4 JICA Phase-III Total Length 19.28 km Total Project Cost Rs. 4997 crore Length completed Yet to be awarded Scheduled Completion date - Bottlenecks, if any -
C. Asian Development Bank (ADB) C-1 SASEC Road Connectivity Investment Program- Tranche-I (AH-2 and AH-48 in the state of West Bengal)
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Total Length 123 km Total Project Cost Rs. 1,658.73 crore Length completed 100% Actual Completion date 02.11.2019
C-2 SASEC Road Connectivity Investment Program- Tranche-II (Mechi bridge in West Bengal and Imphal-Moreh Section in Manipur) Total Length 67.18 km Total Project Cost Rs. 1,789 crore Length completed 17.5 km Scheduled Completion October, 2021 date Bottlenecks, if any Land acquisition in the state of Manipur is slow. Out of 3 packages, 2 packages only could be commenced till date.
119. The Committee notes that various Externally Aided Projects are facing issues related only to land acquisition. The Committee recommends the Ministry to actively pursue the matter with the concerned State Governments so as to minimize the delays caused.
120. The Committee finds the huge reduction of Rs. 800 crores for Programme Component in Road Works at RE 2019-20 stage, against an allocation of Rs. 1,700 crores in BE 2019-20. The Ministry, in its written reply clarified that the fund is for three schemes viz., (i) Counterpart funding for the works under World Bank funding (ii) Counterpart funding for the works under Asian Development Bank funding and (iii) Counterpart funding for the works under Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) funding. Progress of ongoing works under World Bank Funding for National Highways Inter-connectivity Improvement Programme (NHIIP) and work under JICA funding could not be achieved as per programme. Hence, saving of Rs. 800 crore is proposed to be re-appropriated to National Highways (Original).
121. The Committee would like to know the reasons due to which the works under World Bank Funding for NHIIP and JICA funding could not be achieved. The Committee recommends that measures may be taken to ensure that these projects stay on schedule and are completed on time.
SARDP-NE AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH PACKAGE OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS 122. Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North East (SARDP- NE) covering construction/improvement/DPR preparation of 10,141 km road stretches,
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approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) /Cabinet from time to time. The programme has been divided under 3 parts, as follows:-
I. Phase „A‟ of SARDP-NE
Phase „A‟ of SARDP-NE approved by the Government envisages improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (3,014 km of NH and 1,085 km of State roads). However actual length as per DPR is 4007 km. Out of 4007 km, 3339 km roads has been approved for execution and balance 668 km is yet to be awarded. Till December, 2019, 2150 km of road has been completed. The SARDP-NE Phase „A‟ is expected to be completed by March, 2024. The implementation of these roads has been entrusted to various Agencies such as State PWDs, BRO, NHIDCL and NHAI.
II. Arunachal Pradesh Package of Roads and Highways The Arunachal Pradesh Package for Road & Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (2,205 km of NHs & 114 km of State / General Staff / Strategic Roads) has also been approved by the Government. Projects on 776 km are to be taken up on BOT (Annuity) mode and the remaining are to be developed on EPC mode / Item Rate Contract as per Ministry‟s extant policy. However actual length as per DPR is 1991 km. Till December, 2019, projects in total length of about 1934 km have been awarded out of which 949 km has been completed. Balance 57 km is yet to be awarded. The entire Arunachal Pradesh package is targeted for completion by March, 2024. III. Phase „B‟ of SARDP-NE Phase „B‟ of SARDP-NE, covers 3,723 km (2,210 km NHs and 1,513 km of State roads) of road. Phase „B‟ SARDP-NE shall be taken up after completion of Phase „A‟. Phase „B‟ has been approved by the Government for preparation of DPR only. Preparation of DPR for development of 3,723 km is in progress.
123. The Ministry has informed that an amount of Rs. 3,680 crore was allocated for SARDP-NE during 2019-20 BE. An expenditure of Rs.781.45 Crore was incurred as on 31.12.2019. It is proposed to allocate Rs. 3,650 crore for the programme under BE 2020- 21.
124. The Ministry provided the following details regarding the physical & financial progress of SARDP-NE scheme:
Year Length Completed Expenditure incurred / Fund (km) released (Rs. in Crore) 2018-19 421 5,344.50 2019-20 (January, 219 871.49 2020) 36
125. The Committee notes that the physical progress made by the Ministry under SARDP-NE scheme has fallen drastically in 2019-20, compared to the progress made in the year 2018-19. The Committee desires to know the reasons behind the slow progress made in SARDP-NE 2019-20. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take strong action against delays caused on part of a concessionaire after holistically assessing the genuine difficulties faced by concessionaires and blacklist them after exercising due diligence. 126. The Ministry has further informed that initially the target was to complete/improve 4,099 km under SARDP-NE Phase-A & 2,319 km road under Arunachal Pradesh Package of SARDP–NE by March, 2014 & March, 2015 respectively. However, completion of projects/Scheme got delayed mainly due to following: (i) Land Acquisition; (ii) Less working season; (iii) Non-availability of local Agencies; and (iv) Scarcity of good quality quarry materials/Aggregates.
127. The Ministry has furnished the following details regarding the physical & financial progress of SARDP-NE scheme up to January, 2020 as under:
Length in km, Amount in Rs. crore Scheme Length as per Actual DPR Length Length Expenditu CCEA approval length sanctioned Complete re d incurred SARDP–NE-Phase-A 4099 4007 3339 3218 32946 Arunachal Pradesh 2314 1991 1934 Package of SARDP–NE Total 6413 5998 5273 3218 32946
128. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed that most of the ongoing SARDP NE projects have witnessed time and cost overruns during 2018-19 and 2019-20. Due to time & cost overrun, total cost of the scheme is expected to be increased by more than about 1.5 times of approved cost of Rs. 30,450 crore. 129. The Ministry has submitted that the following steps have been taken for timely execution of SARDP-NE works:
(i) Setting up and operationalize a new corporate entity namely NHIDCL, dedicated exclusively to the task of fast pace constructing/upgrading/widening of National Highways in NER & Hilly region.
(ii) Close monitoring of the projects at field level as well as in Ministry.
(iii) Sanctioning of project at least after completion of 80% Land acquisition.
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(iv) Upfront shifting of utilities, environment/forest clearance in close coordination with State Government.
(v) Streamlining of LA acquisition through Bhoomi Rashi portal.
130. The Committee notes a huge delay of almost a decade in completion of the SARDP-NE Phase-A and Arunachal Pradesh Package, which not only caused inconvenience to the commuters, but also resulted into significant overcost in the project. The Committee observes that the issues causing the delay are specific to the region and hopes that the Ministry takes these into consideration while projecting timelines and expenditures for future projects in the region. The Committee recommends that efforts be made to solve these long-standing issues as development of road infrastructure in this region is crucial not only because of its strategic location, but also to further the scope of tourism in the North East region.
131. The Committee has been given to understand that construction of Roads in the North Eastern Region in general and Arunachal Pradesh in particular are progressing at a snail‟s pace. As the North Eastern Region is of great strategic importance to our country, the Committee recommends that all road projects being implemented should be given focussed attention and implemented within a prescribed timeframe and if need be, the works awarded may be retendered.
NORTH-EASTERN AREAS 132. With regard to the progress made during 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the execution of projects of strategic importance being carried out in the North-East, the Ministry, in its written reply, informed the Committee that during 2018-19 & 2019-20 (up to December, 2020) projects sanctioned & road constructed in NER are as under:
Year Project sanctioned Road Expenditure incurred constructed / Fund released Length (km) Cost Length (km) (Rs. in Crore) (Rs. in Crore) 2018-19 718 5,974 1,028 5,944.47 2019-20 (Upto 652 6,329 500 2,931.16 Jan, 2020)
133. Besides, 169 nos. project covering 3,961 km total costing Rs. 46,809 Crore are in progress in NER. 134. The Committee notes with dismay, the sharp drop in the length of road constructed as well as the expenditure incurred during the financial year 2019-20 till January, 2020. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the near- halving of pace of construction and expenditure in the region.
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SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ROADS IN THE LEFT WING EXTREMISM (LWE) AFFECTED AREAS 135. The Government has approved a scheme for development of about 1,177 km of NHs and 4,276 km of State Roads in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas as a Special Project with an estimated cost of about Rs. 7,300 Crore. The modified Road Requirement Plan (RRP) commensurate to the CCS approval accorded in June, 2010 comprises of development of about 1,126 km length of NHs and 4,351 km length of state roads. The projects cover 34 districts in nine states namely in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Technical and financial sanction for all identified National Highways & State Road Projects would be as per stipulated procedure for National Highways works.
136. As on 31st March, 2019, the detailed estimates for 5,422 km length have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 8,674 Crore, out of which, works on 5,419 km length costing Rs. 8,739 Crore have been awarded. Development in 4,868 km length has been completed and cumulative expenditure incurred so far is Rs. 7,565 Crore. 137. The total B.E. outlay recommended for this programme is Rs. 420 crore for the year 2020-21. Out of this, it has been recommended to earmark Rs. 320 crore under Tribal Sub Plan (TSP). Achievement During 2019-20* Target for 2020-21 Completion Completion 55 km 100 * Till December, 2019 138. The Ministry took initiatives and relaxed mainly the following conditions for acceptance of the bids by State Government under LWE Scheme for better participation of Contractors :- i. Acceptance of bids:- State Government has been authorized to accept bids up to 10% excess over cost of work based on current SOR.
ii. Schedule of Rates (SOR):- If required, separate SOR for LWE areas may be adopted while preparing estimates of works under LWE scheme. Accordingly, Chhattisgarh State PWD revised SoR with an adhoc increase of 40% for road works & 20% for bridge works in certain districts in Bastar Region.
iii. Clubbing and splitting of works horizontally and vertically have been permitted, where there is no response to tenders even after several calls. Ministry had permitted vertical and horizontal splitting of works to enable local contractors to participate.
139. Targets and achievements in various types of development works under the Special Programme for development of NHs/Roads in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected
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areas including roads under Vijayawada Ranchi Corridor, for the last 5 years is as under:
Year Target (km) Achievement (km) 2014-15 1,000 655 2015-16 750 392 2016-17 570 398 2017-18 500 376 2018-19 350 245 140. The Committee notes that 5422 km out of the planned 5453 km length planned under this scheme, has been awarded. The Committee observes that although the Special Programme for Development of Roads in the LWE affected areas is nearing its completion, the physical achievement of target is decreasing every year. The Committee notes with concern that only 55 km of roads have been constructed under this Head in 2019-20 (till December, 2020). The Committee is afraid that at this pace, the remaining portion of the roads under this scheme will take several years to be completed. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may revisit the target it has set for 2020-21 and strive to complete the road projects under this scheme at the earliest.
CENTRAL ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (CRIF) 141. The total cess (on Petrol and High Speed Diesel) recommended to be earmarked for National Highways at B.E. 2020-21 is Rs. 52,402 crore.
142. The Ministry has provided the following utilization figures under Central Road Fund for 2018-19 and 2019-20: Amount Rs. in Crore Year Item RE allocation Expenditure 2018-19 NH 44,180.31 42,641.26 CRIF (State 6,998.93 6,784.50 Roads) EI&ISC 500.00 474.82 Total 51,679.24 49,900.58 2019-20 (Upto NH 46,717.07 39,607.89 31.01.2020) CRIF (State 7,421.58 4,087.06 Roads) EI&ISC 400 255.10 Total 54,538.65 43,950.05
143. The State-wise details of the length completed under the Schemes of States financed from CRIF during the year 2018-19 & 2019-20 is given at Annexure-I.
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144. The Committee appreciates the optimal utilization of Central Road Fund in FY 2018-19, but is distressed to note the low expenditure under the head CRIF (State Roads) in FY 2019-20 till January, 2020. The Committee may be apprised of the reasons behind the same.
145. The following provision is proposed for RE 2019-20 and BE 2020-21 under Revenue Head from Central Road and Infrastructure Fund:
Amount in Rs. Crore Name of the Scheme Fund proposed to be Fund proposed to be allocated at RE 2019-20 allocated for BE 2020- stage 21 Maintenance and Repairs of NHs *2,100.07 2,600.07 including Sawachhata Action Plan Fund for State Roads including UTs 7,284.18 6,625.35 of Delhi, Puducherry and J&K Research and Development 0 79.00 Total 9,384.25 9,304.42 *An amount of Rs.1000 crore is proposed to be surrendered from M&R so that additional fund under NH(O) may be obtained in second supplementary grant.
146. With regard to decreased allocation of Rs. 9304.42 crores under Revenue head in „Transfer to Central Road and Infrastructure Fund‟ in BE 2020-21, the Ministry has informed the Committee that a provision for inter-account transfer for equal amount has to be made in Demands for Grant. However, expenditure cannot be made directly from this Head. First, this has to be transferred to reserve fund under Pr.CCA Office and only then, actual expenditure is made under the Head to which the provision is made for making expenditure. Accordingly, the provision has been reduced at RE 2019-20 level.
147. Expenditure under Revenue head in „Transfer to Central Road and Infrastructure Fund‟ for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 (Till 31.01.2020) is given as under:
(Amount Rs. in crore) Financial BE RE Fund transferred/ year Provision Provision Expenditure made 2018-19 11,118.99 9,630.17 9,317.77 2019-20 10,488.07 9,384.25 7,412.55 (upto 31.01.2020)
148. The Committee is happy to note the healthy utilization of funds made under the Revenue Head in CRIF during the past two years. The Committee, however, notes with concern a decline of about 10% in the „Fund for State Roads including UTs of Delhi, Puducherry and J&K‟ in BE 2020-21. The Committee feels that State Governments already face lack of investment in their own infrastructure projects. 41
The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into the projected requirements for State Roads including UTs and approach the Ministry of Finance for higher allocation under this head at RE stage in 2020-21. 149. The Ministry, in its written reply, has furnished the following Scheme-wise details of CRIF allocated and expenditure incurred/releases made for National Highways and State Roads under during year 2018-19 and 2019-20 (up to January, 2020): Amount Rs. in crore Sl. Name of the Scheme 2018-19 2019-20 No BE RE Expenditu BE RE Expendit . re ure CAPITAL SECTION 1 Fund for Bharatmala/ 20093.00 16569.00 16567.05 16091.00 16091.00 13855.00 NHDP-IV 2 National Highways 18496.42 21246.81 21241.18 22854.00 24776.00 22640.43 (Original) 3 Roads in LWE Affected 2940.00 2985.00 2599.43 2850.00 2835.00 1797.61 area, Tribal areas and Ranchi-Vijayawada Corridor 4 Counterpart funding of 460.00 732.00 428.02 1700.00 900.00 594.79 Externally Aided Projects 5 State Roads of Inter- 898.70 500.00 474.82 500.00 400.00 255.10 State Connectivity and Economic Importance 6 Development of IT and 7.00 8.25 8.13 7.00 7.00 4.48 Other Charges 7 Development of Roads 0.00 0.00 0.00 33.58 137.40 6.74 in UTs without Legislature 8 Machinery and 15.00 8.00 0.28 15.00 8.00 2.21 Equipment for Road Transport Total Capital Section= 42910.12 42049.06 20077.73 44050.58 45154.40 39156.36 REVENUE SECTION 9 Maintenance and 2920.69 2531.25 1697.17 3000.07 2000.07 711.81 Repairs 10 Swachata Activites 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.66 11 Development of State 8007.42 6998.93 6784.50 7388.00 7284.18 4080.32 Total Revenue 11028.11 9630.18 8581.67 10488.07 9384.25 4792.79 Grand Total Capital 53938.23 51679.24 28659.40 54538.65 54538.65 43949.15 and Revenue
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150. The Committee is distressed to note severe under-utilization of funds under almost all the important projects funded by CRIF in 2019-20 (till January, 2020), except Bharatmala and NH(O).The Committee observes that such a level of under- utilization of funds results in cuts in the Budgetary allocations of the Ministry, which in turn, hampers several of its crucial schemes. The Committee desires that the Ministry may look into this matter seriously and evaluate the reasons behind the same. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make sincere efforts to optimally utilize the available funds and also avoid rushing through the expenditure at the end of the Financial Year.
CHAR DHAM PARIYOJANA
151. The Ministry, in its written reply, informed the Committee that it has taken up the Connectivity Improvement Program for Char-Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunothri & Gangothri) in Uttarakhand. The program includes projects of improvement /development of 889 km length of NHs at total estimated cost of about Rs. 11,700 crore. The program was initially targeted for completion by March 2020. The projects include provisions like widening of existing narrow & geometrically deficient NHs to 2-Lane NH standards with paved shoulders, protection of landslide prone zones, construction of bypasses, long bridges, tunnels, bus /truck lay bye /rest area and elevated corridors. The programme has been delayed due to litigation related to forest and environment clearance in various courts and the exact date of completion of the programme depends on final outcome.
152. Out of total 53 civil works covering the entire length under Chardham project, 40 civil works of total project cost amounting to Rs. 9,474 crore (including cost of pre- construction works amounting to Rs. 491 cr.) in a length of 673 km have been sanctioned. 38 works in a length of 647 km amounting to Rs. 8,379 cr. have been awarded out of which 36 works amounting to Rs. 8,238 cr. in length of 646 km are ongoing and 2 works amounting to Rs. 141 cr. in a length of 1.1 km have been completed. Balance 2 nos. works amounting to Rs. 604 cr. in a length of 25 km are in tender stage.
153. The Committee notes that the Ministry is lagging far behind in completion of the Char Dham Pariyojana, the targeted time for completion of which was March, 2020. Only 1.1 km of length has been completed so far and work is ongoing in only 646 km stretch of the project, out of the 889 km length of the project. The Committee desires that the Ministry should look into the issues causing delays in the program and come up with a new timeline for its completion which may be strictly adhered to.
154. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take cognizance of the upcoming Kumbh Mela and take effective steps to ensure that the connecting roads to the host city are in good condition and meet the traffic needs of the area during this large congregation.
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ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE & INTER STATE CONNECTIVITY (EI&ISC) 155. The Ministry, in its written reply, informed the Committee that Rs. 500 crore has been allocated for Economic Importance & Inter State Connectivity (EI&ISC) works during 2019-20. Out of this, an expenditure of Rs. 255.10 cr upto 31.01.2020 has been incurred. As on 31st January, 2020, 42 numbers of works having sanctioned cost of Rs. 2,236.21 crore in 745.79 km. length including 3 number of bridge works are on-going.
156. An outlay of Rs. 400 crore for BE 2020-21 has been recommended for States and UTs for State Road works under Economic Importance & Inter State Connectivity (EI&ISC) Schemes out of the cess accrual.
157. The Committee sought to know the reasons for reduced allocation of Rs. 400 crores under „Grants to Inter-State and Economically Important Roads – Schemes financed from CRIF‟ as compared to Rs. 500 crores allocation in BE 2019-20. In its written reply, the Ministry has informed that an expenditure of Rs. 255.10 crore has been incurred upto January 2020 under Inter-State and Economically Important Roads – Schemes financed from CRIF against the allocation of Rs. 500 crore. Accordingly, considering progress of works under the scheme, additional fund requirement under NH(O), allocation under EI&ISC Scheme has been proposed to be reduced to Rs. 400 crore in 2nd Supplementary Demand for Grants. Progress of no project is likely to suffer due to this reduction in outlay.
158. The Committee feels that the under-utilization of funds under the EI&ISC head had resulted in reduced allocation of Rs. 400 crores at BE 2020-21 stage. The Committee feels that the importance of the projects under EI&ISC for the economic growth of the country cannot be undermined. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may look into the matter and make active efforts to ensure optimal utilization of the allocated funds in FY 2020-21.
BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA PHASE-I 159. The Ministry has submitted that it had taken up detailed review of NHs network with a view to develop the road connectivity to Border areas, development of Coastal roads including road connectivity for Non-Major ports, improvement in the efficiency of National Corridors, development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes along with integration with Sagarmala, etc., under “Bharatmala Pariyojana”. Under this proposal, the Ministry has identified stretches for development of about 26,200 km length of Economic Corridors, 8,000 km of Inter Corridors, 7,500 km of Feeder Routes, 5,300 km Border and International connectivity roads, 4,100 km Coastal and Port connectivity roads, 1,900 km Expressways, National Corridor Efficiency improvement by development of ring roads around 28 cities, decongestion of about 125 choke points and 66 congestion points, development of 35 nos. of Multimodal Logistics Parks. 160. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal for investment approval for Phase-I of “Bharatmala Pariyojana”, CCEA had approved the implementation of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, spanning a period of 5 years (2017-18 44
to 2021-22) at an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,35,000 Crore. Of the outlay, Rs. 3,85,000 Crore has been allocated for new projects to be awarded under Bharatmala Pariyojana and Rs. 1,50,000 Crore for completion of residual NHDP projects. “Bharatmala Pariyojana” Phase–1 includes development of about 9,000 km length of Economic corridors, about 6,000 km length of Inter-corridor and feeder roads, about 5,000 km length of National Corridors Efficiency improvements, about 2,000 km length of Border and International connectivity roads, about 2,000 km length of Coastal and port connectivity roads, about 800 km length of Expressways and balance length of about 10,000 km of roads under National Highways Development Project (NHDP). Approved target for completion of the program is 2021-2022. The details of components approved by CCEA are as under: S. No. Component CCEA Approval Outlay approved for BM Phase 1 (in by CCEA (Rs. in kms) crores) a) Economic Corridors 9,000 1,20,000 b) Inter Corridor & Feeder 6,000 80,000 roads c) National Corridors 5,000 1,00,000 Efficiency Improvement d) Border & International 2,000 25,000 Connectivity Roads e) Coastal & Port 2,000 20,000 Connectivity Roads f) Expressways 800 40,000 Total 24,800 3,85,000 Balance Road works under 10,000 1,50,000 NHDP Grand Total 34,800 5,35,000 Status of appraisal and award: - 161. Out of the 24,800 km approved under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, total of 172 projects of length 6,782 km have been awarded till 31st Jan 2020; out of the residual NHDP component to be completed Bharatmala Phase-I, a total of 4,989 km length was balance for award, out of which 62 projects covering 2,892 km length have been awarded till 31st Jan 2020. The details are as follows: -
Appraised but Type of Corridor Awarded Pending for Total S. (approved length & Award No. amount) No. of Length No. of Length No. of Length Projects (km) Projects (km) Projects (km) a) Economic Corridors 69 2597 15 528 84 3125 b) Inter Corridor & Feeder 20 786 8 275 28 1061 Roads 45
Appraised but Type of Corridor Awarded Pending for Total S. (approved length & Award No. amount) No. of Length No. of Length No. of Length Projects (km) Projects (km) Projects (km) National Corridors c) 53 1762 7 202 60 1964 Efficiency Enhancement Border & International d) 6 973 6 973 Connectivity Coastal & Port e) 6 168 6 168 Connectivity Roads f) Expressways 18 497 18 489 36 985 Bharatmala Total 172 6,782 48 1,494 220 8,276 Residual NHDP 62 2,892 18 1,009 80 3,902 Grand Total 234 9,674 66 2,504 300 12,178
Achievement under Bharatmala During Target for Bharatmala Phase-I for 2020-21 2019-20* Completion Award Completion 2,949 km 5,500 km 4,000 km * Till December, 2019, subsumed under Bharatmala Phase-I
162. Out of the approved financial outlay of Rs. 3,85,000 Crore for projects to be awarded under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, projects of 8,276 km length have been appraised and approved up to 31st Jan 2020, with estimated capital cost of Rs. 2,25,358 Crore. Similarly, against the approved outlay of Rs. 1,50,000 Crore for residual NHDP projects, 3,902 km has been appraised and approved up to 31st Jan 2020 with total estimated capital cost of Rs. 78,486 Crore. However, based on per km Total Capital Cost of the appraised & approved projects, the Estimated Total Capital Cost for the Bharatmala Phase-I projects (including residual NHDP) would be Rs. 8,58,570 Cr. against Rs. 5,35,000 Cr. approved by CCEA.
Achievement under Bharatmala During Target for Bharatmala Phase-I for 2020-21 2019-20* Completion Award Completion 2,949 km 5,500 km 4,000 km
*- Till December, 2019, subsumed under Bharatmala Phase-I
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163. The Committee appreciates the ambitious targets set under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme. The Committee, however, feels that the Ministry is running way behind the schedule, with only 12,178 km being awarded/appraised, out of the 34,800 km length to be covered under the Phase-I till January, 2020, when the completion of Phase-I is targeted by 2021-22. Needless to say, the Ministry would be seriously lagging behind in terms of its originally targeted completion. The Committee notes that Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I is allocated a noticeable portion of the Ministry‟s funds every year and this being the flagship project of the Ministry at present, any delays would have significant bearing on the financial health of the Ministry since there is a direct relation between delays and expenditure incurred on a project. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Ministry should strive to iron out the issues causing delays in timely completion of targets set for Bharatmala Phase-I.
PROJECTS LINKED TO COASTAL ROADS AND PORT CONNECTIVITY 164. The Committee sought to know the details of the accelerated development of 2000 km of coastal and land port roads, as mentioned by the Hon‟ble Finance Minister in her Budget Speech, 2020. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed the Committee that out of 2,000 km of coastal and port connectivity roads identified for BM Phase-1, 168 km (i.e., 77 km of coastal roads and 91 km of port connectivity roads) have been awarded by NHAI so far. The list of coastal and port connectivity projects awarded so far by NHAI under Bharatmala Pariyojana is stated in the table below:
Length awarded under Sr. Bharatmala No Component Project Name State Pariyojana till . 31st Jan, 2020 (km) Coastal Gujarat 1 Dwarka-Khambhaliya 72 Roads Coastal Construction of Airstrip near Datrana 2 Gujarat 5 Roads Village Belakeri Port to Kumta - Sirsi road from Karnatak Port km 0.00 - km 4.265 of Belekeri Port a 3 Connectivity 59 Road Link Rd. and km 4.965 - km 60.00 Roads of SH-69 Port Six Laning of dedicated Port road to Andhra 4 Connectivity Krishnapatnam Port (Package-I) Km 18 Pradesh Roads 0.000 to Km18.000 Port Visakhapatnam Port Road from Andhra 5 Connectivity 13 Km.0.000 to Km.12.700 Pradesh Roads
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Length awarded under Sr. Bharatmala No Component Project Name State Pariyojana till . 31st Jan, 2020 (km) Port Construction of grade separator from H-7 Andhra 6 Connectivity area to Port connectivity Road by passing 1 Pradesh Roads Convent Junction - Vizag Port Total 168
165. The Committee feels that the development of the 2000 km of coastal and port connectivity roads identified for Bharatmala Phase-I is going on at a snail‟s pace. Only 8.4% of the 2000 km has been awarded till 31st January, 2020 even when Bharatmala Phase-I is scheduled for completion by 2021-22. The Committee is of the view that the Ministry is way behind its targets and that the impact of the same will be borne by many of the ports across the country, since the planned coastal roads and port connectivity projects are aimed at removing a crucial bottleneck being faced in the growth of these ports and for easy cargo movement.
166. The Committee recommends that keeping in view the dependence of the growth of Shipping Sector in India on road connectivity, the Ministry may look into the issues causing delays in the project and resolve the same to ensure its speedy execution and completion.
ECONOMIC CORRIDORS AND STRATEGIC HIGHWAYS
167. The Committee sought to know the details of the accelerated development of 9000 km of economic corridors and 2000 km of strategic highways, as mentioned by the Hon‟ble Finance Minister in her Budget Speech, 2020.
168. In this regard, the Ministry has informed the Committee that out of 9,000 km of economic corridors, 8,0001 km has been entrusted with NHAI and the remaining 1,000 km has been entrusted with NHIDCL. Out of the 8,000 km entrusted with NHAI for development under Phase-1 of Bharatmala Pariyojana, 2,283 km has been awarded. Out of the remaining 6,402 km of balance for award length, 1,523 km will be awarded in the current financial year and the remaining 4,879 km will be awarded over the next two financial years. The list of economic corridors and the status is provided in the table below:
1 Against 8,000 km entrusted to NHAI, projects with length 8,686 km has been identified currently for development. However, only 8,000 km will be awarded based on the project readiness and the rest 686 km will be taken up in Phase 2 of Bharatmala Pariyojana subject approval of investment decision. 48
Length in km UI & CCEA Total Completed Awarded Sr. approv BM -1 Economic Corridor Lengt before Under BM till No. ed Length h Bharatmal 31st Jan, 2020 length a C = A - D = A B E B E+F+G 1 Mumbai - Kolkata 1,903 1,213 690 146 28 2 Mumbai - Kkumari 1,695 1,003 692 701 29 3 Agra - Mumbai 1,275 968 306 5 4 Amritsar - Bhatinda - 4 1,104 196 907 915 501 Jamnagar 5 Pune - Hyd - Vijayawada 1,012 717 295 270 130 Kandla - Amd - Ind - 6 796 621 175 177 0 Bhopal Raipur - Bilaspur - Ranchi 7 761 283 477 410 0 - Dhanbad 8 Indore - Hyderabad 717 40 677 713 263 Solapur - Kurnool - 9 707 189 518 523 39 Chennai 10 Bhopal - Kanpur 687 176 511 542 0 11 Surat - Nagpur 651 616 34 225 31 12 Hyderabad - Panaji 592 0 592 0 0 Vadodara - Kandwa - 13 581 0 581 0 0 Betul Surat - Nashik - 14 564 0 564 405 0 Ahmednagar - Solapur 15 Chennai - Madurai 548 455 93 93 0 16 Raipur - Vishakhapatnam 536 72 464 464 0 Solapur - Aurangabad - 17 530 355 175 175 86 Dhule 18 Solapur - Nagpur 527 339 188 188 188 Lakhnadon - Jabalpur - 19 521 376 145 145 125 Varanasi Delhi - Moradabad - 20 490 390 100 100 100 Lucknow 21 Ludhiana - Ajmer 478 0 478 0 0 22 Bengaluru - Mangalore 451 284 167 163 0 23 Raichur - Hassan 448 1 447 447 160 24 Indore - Nagpur 441 180 261 261 0 Beawar - Pali - Sirohi - 25 418 244 174 0 0 Vav - Jamnagar (with spur 49
Length in km UI & CCEA Total Completed Awarded Sr. approv BM -1 Economic Corridor Lengt before Under BM till No. ed Length h Bharatmal 31st Jan, 2020 length a C = A - D = A B E B E+F+G to Pindwara) 26 Delhi - Aligarh - Kanpur 406 126 280 284 152 27 Tuticorin - Cochin 383 128 255 227 0 Sambalpur - Angul - 28 360 153 208 231 112 Cuttack - Paradip 29 Chittorgarh - Indore 325 286 39 39 0 Hubli - Hospet - Bellary - 30 Gooty (with spur to 324 296 28 0 0 Metgal) Bengaluru - Mysore - 31 322 0 322 117 117 Mallapuram 32 Sambalpur - Ranchi 320 30 290 0 0 33 Delhi - Sirsa - Dabwali 307 307 0 0 0 34 Bhopal - Jabalpur 302 302 0 0 0 Surat - Amreli (including 35 296 147 149 149 33 Jambusar - Bharuch) Bengaluru - Chittoor - 36 291 150 141 141 61 Nellore Pune - Ahmednagar - 37 235 235 0 0 0 Aurangabad Kharagpur - Siliguri (Till 38 235 0 235 235 0 Morgam) 39 Jaipur - Agra 226 211 15 15 0 Delhi - Saharanpur - 40 197 0 197 180 124 Dehradun Total 22,958 11,089 11,870 8,686 2,283 169. The Committee takes note of the initiatives of the Ministry with regard to planned and ongoing development of Economic Corridors in the country and hopes that the Ministry is able to complete the development of the corridors as per the scheduled timeline. The Committee, however, finds that the North-Eastern region is absent from the planned/ongoing Economic Corridor projects of the Ministry. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make efforts to develop such economic corridors in the North-East as well, so as to ensure seamless connectivity of the NE region with the mainland.
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170. With regard to Strategic Highways, the Ministry has furnished the following information:
Strategic highways (Border and International Connectivity Roads): Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages development of 2,000 km length of Border raods and international connectivity roads. Out of this, projects in about 1,022 km length has been awarded upto 31.01.2020. Implementation Agency wise details of these roads are as follows:-
Implementation Length Sr. Agency awarded till Component Project Name No. 31st Jan, 2020 (km) Border Khemkaran - Gurdaspur (Pkg. NHAI 1 Roads II) [Khemkaran to start of 49 Amritsar Bypass] Khemkaran - Gurdaspur (Pkg. NHAI 2 V) [Ramdaspur to Gurdaspur 47 Pkg V] Gagaria-Baori-Kalan-Serwa- NHAI 3 Sata-Bakhasar and Sata- 197 Gandhav Jaisalmer Bhadasar-Ramgarh- NHAI 4 194 Tanot and Badhasar-Sarkaritala Munabao (NH-25E)-Tanot NHAI 5 from Km 0.000 to 46.000 and 274 Km 82.600 to 310.467 Khajuwala-Poogal Section and NHAI Poogal-Dantour -Jaggasar- 6 Gokul- Goddu-Ranjeetpura- 212 Charanwala-Naukh-Bap section of NH-911 Km 82.4 to 99.5 and km 104.2 State PWD 7 19 to km 106.6 of NH 512 8 Ranikor - Nongjri NHIDCL 30 Total 1022 171. The Committee notes that as compared to other projects under Bharatmala Phase-I, the length awarded for Strategic Highways till 31st January, 2020 is a healthy figure, even though it still might not be on track for completion by 2021-22, as targeted for completion of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I. The Committee recommends the Ministry to make necessary efforts to achieve the target as per the stipulated timeline.
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DELAYS IN ROAD PROJECTS 172. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed the Committee that a total of 60 projects are delayed by more than 5 years. These projects are delayed due to various reasons namely delay in land acquisition, utility shifting, environment/forest/wildlife clearances, ROB & RUB issues with Railways, public agitation for additional facilities, non-availability of soil/aggregate, geographical constraints & soil conditions, poor performance of contractors, arbitration/contractual disputes with contractors, inadequate cash flow by the contracting agency etc. To ensure timely completion of the ongoing projects various steps such as close coordination with other Ministries, revamping of dispute resolution mechanism, frequent review meetings with project developers, state government and contractors at various levels etc. have been taken up. 173. The Ministry further informed that total 47 projects of MoRTH are currently delayed due to Forest/Environment/Wildlife clearances. Regular follow up is done by Ministry‟s officers with officials of concerned Department to resolve the issues. Delay in completion leads to cost overrun in some projects.
174. In reply to the Committee‟s query regarding projects that have been surrendered by the contractors because of significant delays in giving them an appointed date for starting work on the project, the Ministry, in its written reply, has stated that a total of 403 projects being executed through State PWD, NHAI and NHIDCL have been awarded during 2018-19 & 2019-20, out of which appointed dates of 125 projects are yet to be fixed. Seven Projects have been terminated / foreclosed because of delays in giving appointed date to contractors / concessionaires for starting work on the project.
175. The Committee sought details of road infrastructure projects completed during 2018- 19 and 2019-20, classified as per the time taken for their completion. The Ministry, in its written reply, has furnished the following information in this regard:-
176. 778 nos. projects in a length of 28,787 km costing Rs. 2,74,480 crore are delayed as of January 2020. Details of road projects completed during 2018-19 and 2019-20, classified as per the time taken for their completion:-
Completed with delay Total Year of On 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 completed 1 year More than completion time yrs of yrs of yrs of yrs of projects delay 5 yrs delay delay delay delay 2018-19 27 13 8 3 4 9 52 2019-20 205 49 17 5 6 3 9 Total 52 76 30 13 9 7 18
177. The Committee is concerned to note that only about one out of four road projects has been completed on time by the Ministry in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Further, 47 projects out of the 205 projects completed i.e., about 23% of the projects completed during this period witnessed considerable delays of over 2 years. The 52
Committee recommends that the Ministry should work out the expenditure it has to incur due to delay in road projects, along with the reasons behind the delays in each project. With significant increase in cost of land acquisition every year, the delayed road projects cost a significant amount to the Ministry every year. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry to look into the reasons for delays in road projects and systematically remove the bottlenecks faced in this regard. The Committee feels that a dedicated mechanism be set up to adjudicate the ongoing infrastructure related cases of the Ministry on urgent basis since the delays caused due to prolonged Court hearings lead to significant burden on the public exchequer, which ultimately impedes the growth of the country.
178. The Committee notes that almost all the major projects of the Ministry are running way behind their targeted timeline of completion. In view of this, the Committee recommends that the Ministry may set up a Special Delay Mitigation Cell with a task to chalk out solutions for delays being faced in the projects of the Ministry, in coordination with the stakeholders. This Cell may further analyze the impact these delays cause in terms of increase in expenditure incurred by the Ministry, loss caused in terms of GDP which would have been generated had the projects stayed on course etc. so as to portray a clear picture of the actual negative impact of delays in road infrastructure projects on the overall Indian economy. The Cell may be tasked to provide long-term solutions to the major issues faced in the road projects of the Ministry.
WORK FINANCED FROM PERMANENT BRIDGE FEE FUND (PBFF)
179. The Committee sought information from the Ministry on whether BE 2020-21 allocation of Rs. 18.32 crores under the head „Work Financed from PBFF‟ will be sufficient, since the BE allocation in 2019-20 was Rs. 50 crores. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed that the fund is State specific. This fund is actual toll collection on NHs entrusted to State Governments. The fund collected on NHs by a State is re-allocated to concerned States for NHs works in that State. The fund is non-lapsable. Rs. 50 crore was earmarked under BE 2019-20 comprising of Rs. 39.54 crore from unspent balance of previous years‟ allocations and Rs. 10.46 crore collection during 2017-18. Collection has reduced since 2016-17 because of the policy decision taken by the Ministry to exempt tolling of projects costing less than Rs. 100 crore vide circular no. H-25016/01/2014-(Toll) Vol.2-Part/130 dated 09.09.2016. Considering the progress of projects under the scheme and also since no new projects have been sanctioned under the scheme, the outlay under the scheme is proposed to be reduced to Rs. 10 crore at RE stage. For the next financial year 2020-21, a provision of Rs. 18.32 crore has been made which is actual toll collection for the year 2018-19.
180. The Committee hopes that the reduction in toll collection caused by the policy decision of the Ministry exempting tolling of projects costing less than Rs. 100 crore will not cause shortfall in the funding of NH works of the concerned States. The Committee recommends that the shortfall faced, if any, by the State Governments 53
because of the policy decision, may be taken care of by the Ministry so as to avoid any delays in the ongoing projects under PBFF.
STATE PWD AND BORDER ROAD ORGANIZATION (BRO)
181. The Ministry, in its Annual Report, has provided the following information with regard to allocations for State PWDs and BRO:
(i) An amount of Rs. 30,284.00 crore has been allocated during current year 2019-20, for the NH entrusted to State PWDs and Rs. 350.00 crore for NHs entrusted to BRO for Development of NHs/roads.
(ii) An amount of Rs. 1,427.17 crore including Rs. 140 crore for BRO has been allocated during 2019-20 for the maintenance of National Highways entrusted to the State PWDs & BRO.
(iii) State-wise allocation for the development and maintenance of National Highways entrusted to State PWD during the year 2019-20 (up to December, 2019) is at Annexure-II.
182. The Committee would like to know the reason for huge variations in the percentage of funds allocated for Maintenance & Repairs in the various States and the implications of the same, on the quality of road maintenance in the respective States. The Committee desires that a study may be undertaken to evaluate the quality of roads developed by State PWDs vis-à-vis NHAI and create a quality index. Such an index would push the State PWDs to make efforts to improve the quality of their Highways, enabling the Ministry to motivate the low performing States for higher allocation of funds for Maintenance & Repairs of Highways.
ROAD SAFETY
183. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has informed that it is having detailed consultations with all Stakeholders, including State Governments, to finalise a Road Safety Support Programme for the Country.
184. With regard to NHAI Sukhad Yatra smartphone application, the Ministry has stated that the app has wide range of options to report problems on this app. In „report an issue tab‟ of the app, the facility for providing accident is also there through others feature. For facilitating users on National Highway specifically for accidents, FASTag, Toll plaza issue etc. this app was launched. 1033 NH helpline is 24x7 available which tracks all emergency cases with minute by minute monitoring. At 1033, the caller need not provide pinpoint location and user only has to click on link forwarded in SMS by 1033 which automatically registers caller‟s location at 1033 for providing assistance.
185. The Committee sought to know the reasons behind the poor user ratings received by the NHAI Sukhad Yatra application on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. In its
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written reply, the Ministry has informed that the app is being utilized by only limited road users only. The app also provides basic facilities to road users providing information of toll plazas, route charting, knowledge on highway etc. NHAI is planning to provide awareness among users for more usage of this app and is also contemplating to integrate payment facility so as to empower user to pay toll fee through this app, which will increase its adoption.
186. The Committee appreciates the steps taken by the Ministry/NHAI to allow users to report an accident through the smartphone application NHAI Sukhad Yatra. The Committee recommends that the Ministry/NHAI should tie up with the National Emergency Number 112 to provide its emergency services in case of accidents since an average road user cannot be expected to remember different phone numbers for accidents happening on a National Highway or on a local road. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into addressing the issues being faced by the users with regard to the NHAI Sukhad Yatra application and take remedial steps.
187. The Ministry, in its written reply, has furnished the following information regarding the details of total number of road accidents and fatal accidents during the last 5 calendar years:
Sl. No. Year Total Road accidents No. of fatal road accidents 1 2014 4,89,400 1,25,828 2 2015 5,01,423 1,31,726 3 2016 4,80,652 1,36,071 4 2017 4,64,910 1,34,796 5 2018 4,67,044 1,37,726
188. The Committee notes that while the total number of road accidents has been decreasing since 2015, the number of fatal road accidents is increasing every year. The Committee would like the Ministry to evolve monitoring mechanisms for adherence of road safety standards at each stage of road construction and maintenance.
189. The Committee feels that one of the major reasons behind road accidents is the poor condition of roads. Presence of potholes can prove to be fatal, even more so in the rainy season. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make provisions for speedy redressal of safety concerns on National Highways. The Committee feels that given the vast stretches of National Highways in the country, allowing road users to report potholes, lack of lighting, and other safety concerns through the use of smartphone application would be very helpful to receive information on such issues, along with pinpoint location. The Ministry/NHAI may 55
then forward the complaints received to the concessionaire, responsible for the maintenance of the concerned road. User feedback may also be sought on resolution of the reported issue. The Committee desires that such solutions may be implemented and sufficient fund be provided for that purpose.
190. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may seek higher fund allocation for Road Safety, Maintenance & Repairs of Roads and Driver Training Programmes for effective measures to be taken to minimize the road traffic injuries and deaths, which causes irreparable loss of human lives.
191. The Committee recommends that the safety of road travelers is paramount in each stage of construction and maintenance of road highways under the Ministry. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may look into the feasibility of provision for landing of helicopters at designated spots on the National Highways so that quick response is enabled in case of road accidents. 192. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may set up a portal in order to upload the proceedings of the District Road Safety Committee to ensure transparency and accountability of the same. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may consider broadening the mandate of the Road Safety Committee to cover issues regarding road safety on all roads including rural roads, State PWD roads and National Highways since the Committee finds that the State Governments are often lax in their approach to ensure safety on roads. 193. The Committee recommends that road stretches where fatal accidents take place due to bad condition of road or poor road design, sign boards may be put up as a precautionary measure and necessary remedial action may be taken. The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish status reports on the action taken regarding such black spots.
SAFETY OF WOMEN IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM 194. The Ministry has informed the Committee that the projects submitted by the State/UT Govt. are appraised by the Empowered Committee in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The projects related to safety of women in Public Transport being executed by various State/UT Govts and State Transport undertakings are monitored by this Ministry for early completion as well as for the required outcome.
195. The Ministry has furnished the following details of utilisation of funds under Nirbhaya Scheme for 2018-19 and 2019-20: -
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Rs.in Crore Sl. No. Project Name Components Sanctione Expd. (till d cost 31.01.202 0 Abhaya Project Proposal Installation of IoT(Internet of 138.49 NIL for safety of women and Things) device and related software 1 girl child, Govt. of Andhra in 1 lakh public transport vehicles- Pradesh Vishakhapatnam and Krishna District Women‟s safety in public 50 Ladies Special Pink Buses 83.40 31.10 transport, UPSRTC, Govt. CCTV of U.P. Panic buttons 2 Controllers on 12500 buses 24 Interceptors Advocacy/Advertisements/ Awareness Campaign Bengaluru Metropolitan Women Lounges at important 56.06 3.83 Transport stations Corporation(BMTC), Gender Sensitization and Women Govt. of Karnataka safety protocol training for ground staff Increase the number of Sarathi Squads/ Mobile Police Patrol Vehicles Advocacy, advertisement and Awareness Campaign on Women‟s 3 safety Training women for Heavy passenger Vehicle (HPV) and Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licenses CCTV Surveillance cameras for 1000 buses Mobile application to improve functionalities on women safety Passenger information Display in Bus Stops
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Rs.in Crore Sl. No. Project Name Components Sanctione Expd. (till d cost 31.01.202 0 Scheme for Customization, deployment and 463.90 NIL Implementation of management of State-wise vehicle “Development, tracking platform Customization, Deployment and Management of State-wise 4 vehicle tracking platform for Safety & Enforcement as per AIS 140 Specifications” , in States / UTs under Nirbhaya Framework 196. The Committee is distressed to note that only miniscule expenditure has been made in two schemes, while zero amount has been spent on the two other schemes of the Ministry. The Committee feels that Indian roads are still unsafe for women especially those who travel alone and those who have to travel at night hours. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may proactively take up the matter with the concerned State Governments and resolve the issues which have stalled the execution of these projects.
TRAINING AND RESEARCH
197. The Committee took note of the higher allocation of Rs. 265.00 crores under the head „Research, Training and Studies‟ at BE 2019-20 as against Rs. 158.37 crores spent by the Ministry in 2018-19 and sought to know from the Ministry about the new initiatives undertaken to utilize the same.
198. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed that allocation of Rs. 265.00 crore for the current FY 2019-20 was worked out on the basis of requirement of funds for new activities for publicity and awareness Campaign on Road Safety, new Inspection & Certification Centres, Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR), Regional Driving Training Centre (RDTCs) & Driving Training Centres at District level etc. under the respective existing schemes of (i) Publicity measures & Awareness campaign (ii) Professional Services (Computer system and national data base) (iii) Setting up of Inspection & maintenance Centre (iv) Refresher Training of Drivers in unorganized sector and Human Resource Development (iv) Development of Large bus ports/terminals in States/UTs.
199. Besides, the estimated liabilities/requirement in respect of the ongoing projects of setting up of Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR), Regional Driving Training
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Centre (RDTCs), payment to NGOs for road safety advocacy programme, payment of operation charges and AMC Charges of I&C Centres, payment to Doordarshan, Prashar Bharti and NFDC for telecasting/broadcasting of road safety campaign through TV/Radio sanctioned in the Year 2017-18, reimbursement to balance payment to SRTUs for projects sanctioned under the scheme of skill development for upgradation of Training Centres, balance payment to ASRTU for State level Seminar on Road Safety in the States and publicity and awareness campaign on road safety through SRTUs etc. were also taken into account while preparing the Budget requirement for 2019-20.
200. With regard to the enhanced allocation of Rs. 379 crores for Research, Traning, Studies and Other Road Safety Schemes at BE stage in 2020-21, the Ministry has informed that the budgetary requirement of Rs.379 crore has been worked out based on the requirement of existing projects/activities under the respective schemes. The new initiatives are:-
Two new RDTCs have been sanctioned. New world bank funded project RAS has been started. Upgradation of VAHAN SARTHI in view of the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act,2019. New Contract is being awarded for audit of instruction of Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety in 16 States. Six new I &C centres have been sanctioned. As per Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 section 215, National Road Safety Board is to be set up.
201. The Committee hopes that the Ministry is able to optimally utilize the higher funds allocated for Research, Training, Studies and Other Road Safety Schemes.
202. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may make efforts to cover the entire country under its driver training programmes, in the light of the poor driving habits of the average road user across the country. The Committee desires that the Ministry may explore the possibility of utilizing the MPLADS funds to carry out the driver training programmes in the respective constituencies of Members of Parliament.
203. The Committee observed that the head „Development, Planning, Quality Assurance, Research and Training – financed from CRIF‟ has witnessed almost a twofold increase in allocation to Rs. 79 crores in BE 2020-21, as compared to Rs. 39.28 crores in 2019-20 and desired to know about the new activities planned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to utilize this increased amount.
204. The Ministry, in its written reply, informed the Committee that in addition to earlier sanctioned and ongoing research schemes, this Ministry has taken up Setting up of a state of the art 'Centre for Analytics for MoRTH' to facilitate proposed Geospatial Transformation/Integration of MoRTH, NHAI & NHIDCL. The increase in the fund 59
outlay under the head Development, Planning, Quality Assurance, Research and Training – financed from CRIF‟ is for expected expenses for the above detailed project.
205. The Ministry has stated that under the head „Development, Planning, Quality Assurance, Research and Training – financed from CRIF‟, an expenditure of Rs. 8.71 crore (41.71 %) was incurred during FY 2018-19 against outlay of Rs. 20.88 crore. Further, an expenditure of Rs. 23.67 crore (60.26 %) has been incurred till 31.01.2020 during FY 2019-20 against outlay of Rs. 39.28 crore.
206. The Committee appreciates the initiatives being taken by the Ministry to bolster research and training in the Road Sector in India.
CO-ORDINATION WITH STATE GOVERNMENTS 207. The Ministry has informed that it is implementing a scheme for providing one time Central assistance to the extent of 50% of the project cost or IT related projects such as introduction of GPS/ GSM based vehicle tracking system, computerized reservation system/ticketing system, inter-modal fare integration, passenger information system etc. for services covering inter-city and mofussil areas. The scheme also includes financial assistance for preparation of total mobility plan for the entire State. The scheme has been made effective from 15.3.2010. Scheme has been appraised and revised guidelines have been issued on 05.01.2018 to all States & UTs.
208. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should provide budgetary support to the State Government to bolster their public transport system, in addition to the existing scheme of financial assistance to States/UTs for implementation of IT related projects. The Committee feels that pollution-hit States like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab should be given more funds to improve their public transportation systems and thus, possibly, put a check on the worsening pollution situation in these States. 209. The Committee feels that many of the projects of the Ministry face problems due to delayed action on the part of State Governments. The Committee recommends that the existing mechanism to coordinate with State Governments may be reviewed and revamped in order to improve the coordination between the Ministry and the State Governments.
NEED FOR BETTER CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN MINISTRIES
210. The Committee is of the opinion that the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Culture, Tourism, Railways are not only inter- related and interconnected but also have a common objective to improve connectivity and better amenities for the benefit of tourists, travellers and faster movement of freight within the country. The Committee, therefore, feels that there is a pressing need for having an effective co-ordination mechanism among these Ministries so that the policies and guidelines being formulated by them are executed
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seamlessly and can supplement each other in achieving these objectives. This will not only increase effectiveness and efficiency, but will also help in utilization of funds and skilled manpower to the maximum possible extent. Therefore, the Committee recommends that an easy-to-use interface should be made available which allows hassle-free communication and co-ordination amongst them. A hotline number which is common to all these Ministries, may be established so that whenever emergency arises, there can be effective and prompt coordination among these Ministries and issues in hand can be resolved at the earliest.
EARMARKING OF OBLIGATED ALLOCATIONS FOR SCHEDULED CASTE SUB PLAN (SCSP) AND TRIBAL SUB PLAN (TSP) 211. The Ministry, in its written reply, informed the Committee that although the Ministry has been earmarking 4.3% of Annual Capital Outlay under TSP component wherein specific NH/road projects are being developed which are fully confined within one or more tribal districts, it is not feasible to adopt this approach for dedicated earmarking of funds under SCSP component as either development of NHs nor earmarking of funds for NH projects is feasible to specifically benefit any specific category/community. The Ministry has further stated that in case of NH projects, which are linear in nature, it is not feasible to objectively monitor the beneficiaries especially on the basis of demographical distribution, although development of many NH stretches passing through areas dominantly inhabited by Scheduled Tribes (ST) / Scheduled Castes (SC) eventually benefit such areas towards ushering in overall socio-economic development. Accordingly, the Ministry has requested NITI Aayog, Department of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment from time to time to exempt the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways from mandatory earmarking of funds under SCSP as is allowed for Ministry of Railways, which is also a similar type of linear infrastructure development network distributed in the country.
212. The Committee agrees with the Ministry‟s view that monitoring the beneficiaries especially on demographical distribution is not feasible in case of linear projects like National Highways. The Committee recommends that NITI Aayog may consider the request of the Ministry with regard to seeking exemption from mandatory earmarking of funds under SCSP. The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish the updated status regarding the request it made to NITI Aayog.
STAFFING IN NHAI
213. The Ministry has informed that as on 01.01.2020, out of sanctioned 1890 posts in NHAI, 809 posts are lying vacant. Over the past few years, sincere efforts have been made to fill up the vacancies. However, desired results are not forthcoming. A chart indicating the recruitment drives made by the NHAI over last two years is enclosed at Annexure-III. The impediments in filling up the vacancies have been analysed and remedial actions are being taken which include review of Recruitment Rules, revamping of Absorption Policy & increase in permissible deputation tenure.
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214. The NHAI is a lean & thin organization and the officers are taken on deputation from Central/State Government/Autonomous bodies/PSUs. Further, demand driven and need based assessment of manpower is undertaken from time to time and additional posts were created/sanctioned as per project needs. In 2017-18, such exercise was undertaken and additional posts from Dy. Manager to GM level were sanctioned for Bharatmala and other projects. A similar exercise has also been initiated to review manpower requirement in NHAI, including its field offices based on criteria on recommendation by Committee headed by Member (P) NHAI.
215. The Committee notes that NHAI shoulders the responsibility to implement a large portion of the projects of the Ministry and NHAI has been managing these onerous responsibilities with inadequate manpower of 1081 personnel i.e., 57.2% of its sanctioned strength of 1890 posts. The Committee strongly recommends that the Ministry should look into the impact of the vacancies on the working of NHAI and take urgent measures to fill up vacancies existing in NHAI.
MISCELLANEOUS
CAG Report on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Toll Road
216. The Committee sought to know the status of the recovery of the undue benefit accrued to the concessionaire as per the CAG Report on Hyderabad-Telangana Toll Road. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed that there are 2 Nos. of CAG Audit Paras pending/reply submitted in respect of the State of Telangana which are as under:
(i) Audit Para from C&AG Audit regarding undue benefits extended to the Concessionaires of (i) Four laning from Km.175.000 (Mah/AP Border) to Km.230.000 (Islam Nagar) on Nagpur – Hyderabad section of NH 7 in the State of Telangana under North – South Corridor on Build operation and Transfer (Annuity) Basis (Package No.NS2/BOT/AP-6); (ii) Design Construction, Development, Finance, Operation & Maintenance of 4-laned stretch from Islam Nagar (Km 230.000) to Kadthal (Km 278.000) on Nagpur Hyderabad section of NH-7 in the State of Andhra Pradesh- under North –South corridor (NHDP) Phase–II on BOT (Annuity) Basis–Package No.NS2/BOT/AP-7; (iii) Design, Construction, Development, Finance, Operation and Maintenance of Km.278.000 (Kadtal) to Km.308.000 (Armur) on NH-7 in the State of Andhra Pradesh under North – South Corridor (NHDP Phase –II) on Build, Operate and Transfer (Annuity) Basis –Package No. NS-2/BOT/AP-8; (iv) Design, Construction, Development, Finance, Operation and Maintenance of Km 367 (Adloor Yellareddy) to Km 447.000; and (v) Improvement, Operation and Maintenance of Km 447.000 to Km 464.000 (Gundla Pochanpalli) on NH-44 in the State of Telangana (Package:NS2/BOT/AP-2) [AP-6, AP-7, AP-8 & AP-2] projects due to non-levy of damages amounting to Rs.76.11 Crore and interest thereon on account of inordinate delay in completion of relaying work in respect of the projects. The details are as under: 62
(a) In respect of the above Audit Para, it is to mention that the damages on account of delay in relaying work have already been recovered/withheld from the Annuity Payments of the Concessionaires. (b) The damages which have been recovered are based on the NHAI Policy Circular No. 8.3.32 dated 05.02.2018, which has been specifically issued for establishment of Rational-cum-Pragmatic Settlement Approach for calculating the amount of damages to be imposed on the Concessioanire of BOT (Toll/Annuity) projects on account of delay in periodic maintenance work. (c) Further, in respect of the damages recovered, all the Concessionaires have raised the dispute before the Arbitration Tribunal. In respect of Package AP-2, AP-7 & AP-8, Arbitration Tribunals have given the Award in favour of the Concessionaires which in turn have been challenged/being challenged before Hon‟ble High Court of Delhi.
217. CAG Audit Para on account of non-recovery of damages on account of delay in completion of Punch List Items as well as delay in achieving Final Milestone (COD) in respect of AP-1 Package. As the AP-1 Package is a BOT (Toll) Project, Escrow Bank has been requested many times for recovering the damages on account of the above matter. However, as on date the recovery has not been made by the Escrow Bank. Further, the proposal for recovering the above damages through settlement process has been put up for the approval of the Competent Authority.
218. The Committee desires that it may be apprised of the response given by the Escrow Bank as to why it is not accepting the requests of the Ministry to recover the damages in this matter and whether legal action can be taken against them for the same. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may take proactive measures to ensure that similar such cases do not recur in future.
Curbing excessive usage of horns
219. The Ministry has issued G.S.R. 953(E) dated 05.10.2016 vide which amendment has been made in Form 22 of the Central Motor vehicle Rules, 1989 to add the noise levels of the vehicles.
220. As per rule 119 of Central Motor vehicle Rules, 1989, no motor vehicle, including agricultural tractor and combine harvester, shall be fitted with any multi-toned horn giving a succession of different notes or with any other sound producing device giving an unduly harsh, shrill, loud or alarming noise. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, vide letter dated 12th June, 2017 and 11th August, 2017 has issued an advisory to all the State Governments and Union Territories to strictly follow the provisions of Rule 119 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 regarding multi toned horns.
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221. Furthermore, in rule no. 120(2) of Central Motor vehicle Rules, 1989 it is mentioned that every motor vehicle shall be constructed and maintained so as to conform to noise standards specified in Part E of the Schedule VI to the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
222. Implementation of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and Central Motor vehicle Regulation, 1989 rests with the concerned States/ Union Territories.
223. The Committee feels that the average Indian road user is habituated to honking excessively which in turn contributes a lot to the noise pollution in big cities. Further, the Committee notes that the rules and laws are in place regarding fitting of loud horns on vehicles, but the same are not being implemented effectively. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may run promotional campaigns, especially on social media to promote responsible usage of horns. The same idea may also be advocated through the Driver Training Center Programme of the Ministry.
Timely clearance of payments to contractors
224. The Committee sought information on the steps taken by the Ministry to ensure timely clearance of payments to the contractors, since delays in the clearance of pending dues lead to the disruption of work in many projects, which besides delaying the project and increasing the costs involved, also causes inconvenience to the commuters. The Ministry, in its written reply, has stated that NHAI has created a web portal „GATI‟ for quick response/decisions from NHAI officials on the project related issues. The contractors/concessionaires/user fee collecting agencies & consultants (AEs/IEs) can register on the portal by filling basic project related details and can raise any project specific issues like delay in decisions, including payments, or lodge any other grievance. This will bring transparency and speed up the decision making in the NHAI as the portal will be monitored by the higher authorities.
225. The Committee appreciates the development of the „GATI‟ portal and hopes that the issues raised by the contractors/concessionaires/user fee collecting agencies and consultants are addressed on time. The Committee would like the Ministry to provide a platform to the contractors to report their feedback/grievances to the higher authorities.
226. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may look into the feasibility of increasing the number of project milestones, especially in case of projects costing large amounts of money, as this will enable the release of payments to contractors in smaller instalments and reduce the need for contractors to finance huge amount of money from the lending institutions for long durations.
Public Project Monitoring Facility
227. The Committee sought to know whether there is a project monitoring facility available for the public to track the progress of the various road infrastructure projects 64
carried out by the Ministry/NHAI, since a majority of these projects affect the public in their daily life. The Ministry, in its written reply, has informed the Committee that the details of all ongoing National Highway projects are displayed at the project stretches with details of start date, completion date, cost, contractor and executing agencies along with contact detail of concerned officer for use by general public. Apart from this, NHAI publishes details of all ongoing projects under its jurisdiction in public domain on its website on monthly basis. However, detailed monitoring of progress of projects is done at various levels by the Ministry on regular basis.
228. The Committee feels that the general public has the right to know about the details and exact status of an ongoing road project as the same would establish accountability and transparency in the road projects. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry may develop an easily accessible online portal wherein, inter alia, details, present status, progress achieved in the project and contact details of the officer(s) responsible for ensuring the quality of the project, may be uploaded and updated on a regular basis. This would allow road users and general public to register their grievances regarding the quality of construction/maintenance work.
Promotion of Electric Vehicles in the country
229. The Ministry has informed that the Government had inter alia proposed exemption of registration fees for battery operated/electric vehicles to promote the use of eco-friendly vehicles in the country and had notified and published proposed draft amendments to amend rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for seeking comments and objections.
230. The Committee feels that exemption to battery operated/electric vehicles from payment of registration fees would encourage more people to buy electric vehicles and would also address pollution levels across the country. The Committee desires that it may be apprised of the status of the same.
231. With the growing acceptance of electric vehicles in the country, the Committee feels that the Ministry should look into the issue of lack of noises in electric vehicles‟ engine by way of provision of an inbuilt mechanism to emit sound to alert pedestrians and other vehicles. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may come up with rules/regulations prescribing certain minimum threshold of electronic noise which should be emitted by these vehicles so as to alert pedestrians and other vehicles.
232. The Committee feels that the traffic data available with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would be helpful for the Department of Heavy Industry in finalizing the locations of the charging stations for the electric vehicles, planned to be set up across the country and therefore, recommends that the Ministry may coordinate with the Department of Heavy Industry in this regard.
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Installation of Electronic Weighing Bridges at Toll Booths
233. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may install Electronic Weighing Bridges at Toll Booths in order to put a curb on rampant overloading of trucks in the country. The Committee feels that doing so would prevent damage to the roads and bridges, besides improving road safety. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may explore whether the Electronic Weighing system can be tied up with the Electronic Toll Collection system wherein a vehicle can be identified with the help of the FASTag and if it is found to be overloaded, a challan is generated then and there for the vehicle.
Coordination with Local Police Departments
234. The Committee observes that checking of documents by policemen often leads to slowing down of traffic and sometimes even leads to accidents when high speed vehicles fail to notice a vehicle that has been stopped for document checking by the police. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may designate spots on the Highways, in consultation with the State police department, where the police could ask the vehicles to stop for checking of documents and/or vehicle. Provisions for the same could be incorporated at the design stage itself, wherever possible.
Issuance of Fitness Certificate from anywhere in the country
235. The Committee feels that it is not always feasible for vehicle owners to travel to the city/State that they are registered in, in order to renew their fitness certificate, more so in case of long-haul truck drivers. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry should come up with a mechanism to permit vehicle owners to obtain fitness certificates for their vehicles from anywhere in the country by visiting their nearest local office.
Core group on Safety and Security
236. The Committee emphasizes the need for a combined robust security framework to ensure safety and security in sectors of Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Tourism and Railways. The Committee desires that in order to facilitate effective and periodic coordination among the concerned Ministries and agencies, a core group comprising officers at the level of Joint Secretary of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Tourism, Railways, Commissioner of Railway Safety and Petroleum may be set up to meet on monthly basis to chalk out ways and means for addressing safety and security concerns in these sectors and ensure that international best practices are followed. This core group should be headed by Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. In order to upgrade to international standards, the services of consultants (both domestic and international) who are experts in the respective fields and have domain knowledge, may be engaged for preparing Reports so that they can be implemented. This core
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group may serve as a think-tank and formulate guidelines and directions to improve safety and security standards in these sectors. The Committee would like the Ministry to furnish the monthly Reports and status of implementation of its decisions, to the Committee.
Pending road projects in Telangana
237. The Committee desires that Telangana being a newly formed State, priority should be given to execution of pending road projects in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
238. The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish reasons behind the delay in allocation of NH number to the newly announced National Highway from Hyderabad junction of ORR at Gowrelly to junction at Kothagudem on NH-30, via Valigonda-Thorrur-Nellikudur-Mahabubabad-Yellandu in the Telangana State. The Committee notes that no maintenance activity has been done in respect of this road ever since it was declared as National Highway. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take effective measures to resolve these issues at the earliest.
Four-laning of National Highway connecting Thanjavur-Vikravandi
239. The Committee notes that the four-laning of National Highway connecting Thanjavur-Vikravandi is not progressing well and desires that the same may be speeded up by way of intensive monitoring, and NH-63 connecting Thanjavur to Nagapattinam may be expedited.
Development of Sabarimala National Highway
240. The Committee observes that no funds have been earmarked for the development of Sabarimala Natonal Highway (NH-183A) and is of the view that since lakhs of devotees visit the shrine of Sarbarimala, this project must be accorded priority and should be taken up without any delay and the hindrance coming in the way of development of this Highway should be sorted out in consultation with the State Government of Kerala.
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RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS – AT A GLANCE
ANNUAL PLAN 2019-20 The Committee notes with concern the slow pattern of utilization as only 75% of funds could be spent till 31st January, 2020. Even the amount allocated at R.E. stage could not be spent under some of the heads, except National Highways (Original). The Committee feels that there is laxity on the part of the Ministry in releasing funds for other schemes. In fact, it is only focusing on construction of new highways, whereas important heads like Maintenance and Repair, Road Transport and Road Safety, Research and Development, received paltry amounts in comparison to the size of our highways network. The Committee is of the considered view that haphazard spending towards the end of the Financial Year is bound to cause quality issues in respect of the projects carried out under these Heads. (Para 7)
The Committee finds the reasons too routine in nature. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should be proactive in tackling these routine issues. Excessive spending in the last quarter is against the cannons of fiscal accounting. (Para 9)
The Committee is happy with expenditure of 73.30% of the total allocated amount till the third quarter. However, under-utilization of funds under Capital Outlay for NE Region; Outlay under TSP; Roads of Economic Important & Inter-State Connectivity; Research and Development; Maintenance and Repairs, Development of State/UTs Roads and Road Transport & Road Safety, would mean that these heads would either witness savings or rushing through major expenditure, thus compromising the quality of the projects. (Para 12)
The Committee would like to be apprised of the reasons behind less utilization of funds under all these heads during the first three quarters of 2019-20. (Para 13)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry should strive for optimum utilization of the funds by spreading the utilization across all the quarters of the financial year so as to ensure quality in the projects as well as adherence to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance issued in this regard. (Para 14)
The Committee would like the Ministry to furnish a detailed note justifying 12% of the Revenue Allocation surrendered in 2018-19.
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(Para 16)
The Committee is of the view that severe under-utilization of funds under this head, as is shown in the table under Para 6, led to the drastic cuts under this head which already had been allocated a paltry amount at the B.E. stage in 2019-20. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the gross underutilization of funds under this head. (Para 19)
The Committee notes that the Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) projection of Rs. 65,000 crore is a decrease over the R.E. 2019-20 IEBR of Rs. 75,000 crore, by 13.33%. Further, the Ministry has only been able to raise about 64.91% of the projected IEBR amount up to January, 2020. The Committee would like to know the precise reasons for the decreased IEBR projection in 2020-21 and recommends that the Ministry may take necessary steps to achieve the targeted IEBR funds. (Para 21)
The Committee takes cognizance of the decreased total allocation of Rs. 156,823 crores (including IEBR) in 2020-21, as against Rs. 158,016 crores in 2019-20. The Committee further notes that the target for construction of roads for 2020-21 is 11,000 km – the same target as set for 2019-20. The Committee desires to know as to how the Ministry plans to achieve the same target in 2020-21 with a lower fund allocation. (Para 22)
The Committee is distressed to note that while the budgetary allocation to the Ministry has increased to almost double, from Rs. 47,109 crores at R.E. stage in 2015-16 to Rs. 91,823 crores at B.E. stage in 2020-21, the amount earmarked for the „Maintenance and Repair of NHs‟ head has fallen by 3.77%, from Rs. 2702 crores at R.E. 2019-20 to Rs. 2600 crores at B.E. 2020-21. Similarly, the funds allocated for the head „Research and Development‟ has increased from Rs. 68 crores at R.E. stage in 2015-16 to Rs. 79 crores in 2020-21, which in real terms is a very marginal hike (after factoring in inflation). The Committee would like to know the reasons for significantly less than proportionate increase in allocations under both these heads. The Committee is of the view that Maintenance & Repair of Highways and Research & Development are crucial activities in terms of a robust and quality road network across the country. The Committee recommends that increasing the pace of construction of new highways should not be the sole focus of the Ministry. Quality of roads is equally important. (Para 23)
The Committee notes that the head „Fund for State/UT Roads from CRF/CRIF/EI&ISC‟ has witnessed a reduced allocation of Rs. 7,220 crores at B.E. 2020-21 as compared to Rs. 7,822 crores at R.E. 2020-21. This, according to the 69
Committee, is a significant reduction, especially in light of the overall increase in the Budget of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Committee would like to know the reasons for this reduced allocation in light of the fact that most State Governments already face shortage of funds for growth and maintenance of their road infrastructure network. (Para 24)
The Committee calls upon the Ministry to look into the reasons for the decreasing pace of construction of National Highways in 2019-20 and take effective measures to increase the same during the year 2020-21. (Para 28)
The Committee recommends that due care should be taken to ensure that on- ground construction work is initiated only for those projects for which funds are available, especially in case of EPC projects, since stalled projects cause a lot of inconvenience to commuters and local populace alike. (Para 29)
The Committee takes note of the major activities/initiatives undertaken by the Ministry during the year 2019-20. The Committee hopes these activities/initiatives will be carried on with the same pace and vigour in the year 2020-21. (Para 31)
OUTLAY 2020-21: Demands vis-à-vis Allocations The Committee notes that the gap between the projected requirement of the Ministry and the amount allocated by the Ministry of Finance has further widened to about 40% of the projected requirement at BE stage in 2020-21, as against a gap of 34.5% and 22.5% at RE stage in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. The Committee hopes that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is able to carry out its projects and schemes by considering the inter-se priorities of its projects. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should strive to ensure that the quality of the Ministry‟s projects is not compromised due to availability of limited funds. (Para 34)
ROAD DEVELOPMENT The Committee takes into account the deficiencies pointed out by the Ministry. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should lay greater focus on Research and Development so as to improve poor road geometrics and road safety in its future projects. (Para 37)
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The Committee notes that there are serious issues with regard to monitoring the quality of the road development projects carried out by the Ministry. The Committee would like the Ministry to conduct a quality audit of its projects for effective quality checks in both construction and maintenance of the projects. The Committee recommends that adequate fund may be allocated for periodic quality checks over different stretches of a road under construction and/or maintenance, during various phases of the project, and also after its completion. (Para 38)
The Committee further recommends that the Ministry should chalk out a road quality score mechanism which can be updated throughout the various stages of progress of a road project. This score should be based on the quality of construction material, compliance with safety standards and user feedback. This score would also help in assessing the amount of funds needed to carry out repair works on the road – with roads needing less maintenance getting higher scores. The scoring of road projects should be linked to road contractor‟s portfolio and priority in awarding a road project be given to those contractors with a history of constructing quality road projects. (Para 39)
The Committee observes that inputs from stakeholders can help in preparation of DPRs to avoid post-construction issues. (Para 40)
The Committee is of the view that the efficiency of Highway alignment in Greenfield projects is much higher than Brownfield projects. The Committee recommends that as per the policy of MoRTH , linear road construction and Greenfield projects should be accorded utmost priority for construction of road projects.
(Para 41)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry should ensure the inclusion of provision for service roads on both sides across the National Highways network. The Committee feels that important roads with significant traffic load, such as Hyderabad- Kurnool Tollgate to Bengaluru Route Tollgate and other such toll gates, should be given priority. The Committee feels that this would allow smooth passage of city traffic as well as slow speed vehicles and lower the number of road accidents happening on the National Highways. (Para 42)
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS The Committee strongly recommends that a mechanism should be established to periodically monitor the quality of Highways. A policy framework should be set in place to ensure that repair works and maintenance of Highways are carried out within a
71 prescribed timeframe so as to ensure certain minimum standards of pliability on the Highways. (Para 46)
The Committee fails to understand how the Ministry terms the outlay proposed for Maintenance & Repair of NHs to be sufficient at this stage when the outlay has been reduced to half of the projected amount. The Committee feels that even the Rs. 5,100 crore demand, which comes to merely 3.3% of the Ministry‟s overall projected demand at BE stage in 2020-21, is grossly inadequate to meet the maintenance requirements of the vast National Highways network in India, which continues to be ill-maintained and riddled with pot-holes and other maintenance issues. (Para 48)
The Committee is distressed to note that only Rs. 711.81 crores out of the BE 2019-20 allocation of Rs. 3,000 crore has been spent by the Ministry up to 31st January, 2020. The Committee feels that the fund allocation available to the Ministry for Maintenance and Repairs is already a miniscule amount compared to the large network of NHs to be serviced by this amount and 76% under-utilization of even this allocation is a matter of grave concern. It questions the efficiency of the scheme and the commitment of the Ministry towards maintenance of highways in the country. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind this severe under-utilization of funds and the measures envisaged/implemented may be taken to ensure optimal utilization of the funds in the future. (Para 51)
The Committee is concerned to note the decreasing length and cost of works sanctioned under Periodic Renewal (PR) / Improvement of Riding Quality Programme (IRQP) in the past few years. Even when combined with NH stretches covered under Operate-Maintain-Toll model by NHAI, the total NH stretches covered for maintenance is still miniscule in comparison to the overall NH network in India. The Committee, therefore, recommends that maintenance and repair of existing NH network in the country should be given utmost priority since the same holds the key to road safety as well. So, focus of the Ministry should be not only on its length, but also on enhancing the quality of the NH network in the country. (Para 54)
The Committee observes that the „Strategy for New India @ 75‟, NITI Aayog advocates that India should begin with earmarking 10 percent of its annual budget for Road and Highways for maintenance, to move towards the developed country norm of earmarking 40 percent to 50 percent of the budget for roads and highways for maintenance. The Committee notes that instead of earmarking 10 percent of the annual budget for maintenance, the allocation for maintenance and repairs have witnessed a decrease at BE stage in 2020-21. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should
72 strive to earmark greater share of funds for M&R in future so as to improve the condition of Highways in the country. (Para 55)
The Committee takes note of the initiatives taken by the Ministry for carrying out maintenance of National Highways, but a lot needs to be done to keep our Highways network safe and pliable. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should lay greater focus on maintenance and repair of Highways in the coming years and higher allocations be made under this head in future. (Para 56)
The Committee recommends that latest technology should be employed to monitor the quality and pliability of roads. A user interface may be developed in the form of smartphone application and/or website to permit Highway users to report potholes on the Highways and steps may be taken to ensure timely action on the same. The Committee further recommends that there should be strict accountability about the condition of the roads which may be shared by the authority in-charge for ensuring the quality of the road as well as the concessionaire carrying out the road project. (Para 57)
EXPRESSWAYS AND ECONOMIC CORRIDORS The Committee notes that despite having the second largest road network in the world, India still lags behind in terms of length of Expressways. The Committee feels that Expressways are a crucial infrastructure requirement to ensure fast and seamless connectivity between the economic hubs of the country, as a large amount of cargo and passengers across the country travel by road. The Committee recommends the Ministry to work out plans for more Expressways in the country. Special attention may be given to road quality and safety standards on Expressways since the vehicles travel at a fast speed and with low reaction time available to the drivers, wherein even the slightest fault in the road geometrics could lead to fatal accidents. (Para 60)
The Committees notes that the proposal for Greenfield project from Sonpur- Rewaghat to Dumaria Ghat connecting Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Nepal Border is the kind of Greenfield projects which should be given top priority as Express Highways under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. (Para 61)
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway The Committee would like to know the present status of land acquisition and environmental/forest clearances for the 1351 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The 73
Committee feels that this is a vital project for improving the road connectivity between the two economic hotspots of the country and hopes that all efforts are made to ensure the timely completion of this project. The Committee further recommends that given the immense length and potential of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, mechanisms may be put in place to ensure that quality standards are maintained throughout the entire stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. (Para 63)
FUNDING OF ROAD SECTOR PROJECTS The Committee appreciates the approval of the proposed amendments to the TOT model allowing operational NH projects with toll revenue generation history of one year to be monetized through the TOT model and hopes that the same would enable the Ministry to raise more funds for its projects. The Committee desires that monitoring mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that the O&M obligations which rest with the concessionaires for such projects, are carried out with due earnest. (Para 67)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into the apprehensions of the concessionaires with regard to the TOT model so as to make the TOT bundles attractive for more private players and thus generate higher funds. (Para 68)
The Committee may be apprised of the target set for raising funds under the TOT model for the FY 2020-21 and how the Ministry plans to achieve the same. (Para 69)
The Committee notes that after a sudden spike in private investments in 2015-16, the Ministry has not been able to replicate its success in the following years. The Committee recommends that given the crucial need for private investment in the road infrastructure sector, the Ministry may look into the reasons behind the declining private interest and work out solutions to regain the same. (Para 75)
The Committee notes the declining private sector investment for the road sector and feels that increasing the Gross Budgetary Support every year is not suitable for sustained growth. The Committee, therefore, recommends that viable measures may be taken to rekindle private sector interest in road infrastructure sector. (Para 76)
The Committee notes that though the Ministry plans to raise Rs. 86,182 crore by monetizing its assets under the TOT model, there are apprehensions as to how the Ministry would raise an average of Rs. 14,363 crores in each financial year – a figure
74 significantly higher than the 3 bundles planned for a cumulative amount of Rs. 10,000 Crore in financial year 2019-20. (Para 79)
The Committee notes that the share of HAM projects has decreased from 36.72% of the Rs. 198,164 crore projects awarded in 2017-18, to a mere 1.5% of the Rs. 48,288 crore projects awarded up to January, 2020 in the FY 2019-20. This indicates that in terms of cost, 93% of the road projects awarded in FY 2019-20 have been awarded under the EPC model. The Committee is concerned to note that this significant shift towards the EPC model marks a heavy decrease in the private sector investment in the present financial year. The Committee notes that the HAM model had been brought to generate the interest of private sector, but it seems to be failing miserably since 2018- 19. The Committee would like to know the reasons for the rejection of HAM model for the projects awarded in 2019-20 and how the Ministry plans to factor in the concerns of the private sector to iron out the kinks in the HAM model in the upcoming years. (Para 81)
The Committee welcomes the move to grant 100% tax exemption for Sovereign Wealth Funds to attract investments from across the globe and help finance the ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline program. The Committee hopes that steps will be taken to minimize delays on road projects funded by Sovereign Wealth Funds so as to present the Indian Road Infrastructure Sector as a profitable venture for attracting higher investments in the future. (Para 83)
INCREASING DEBT OF NHAI The Committee hopes that the proposed securitization of toll revenue, TOT model and InvIT would help NHAI in dealing with its burgeoning debts. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the tepid response received to the TOT bundles in the present Financial Year. (Para 87)
The Committee is concerned to note that the amount of debt NHAI has to repay as on date, is more than twice the present annual budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The debt servicing cost is estimated to rise up to Rs. 34,846 crore in the FY 2021-22 and would continue to be a sizeable figure in the following years. The Committee feels that the NHAI needs to take urgent proactive measures to solve its financial issues. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should constitute an Advisory Committee, to look into the issues pertaining to the increasing debt of NHAI and the efficacy of the measures being taken by the Ministry and NHAI, in order to monetize their assets, to come out of the present debt trap. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may consider the feasibility of implementing strong measures such as hiking the toll charges across the country and 75 postponing certain projects to later dates, since the present financial health of NHAI is not sustainable in the long run and would create bigger issues in the road infrastructure sector in the future. (Para 90)
WORKS UNDER ROADS WING The Committee notes a pattern of severe under-utilization of funds under the scheme „EAP and Counter part funding‟ during the years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Committee would like to be apprised of the reasons behind this underutilization. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may coordinate with the State Governments involved, if any, to ensure optimal utilization under this head. (Para 93)
The Committee appreciates that 91.38% of the total allocation has been spent by the Ministry under NH(O) till January, 2020. The Committee, however, notes that there has been a slight reduction under NH(O) in BE 2020-21 as compared to RE 2019-20, even when the Ministry has been able to spend almost the entire amount allocated for this head in 2019-20. The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should request the Ministry of Finance for higher allocation under this head at the RE 2020-21 stage. (Para 96)
ACQUISITION OF LAND The Committee takes note of the various initiatives taken by the Ministry to streamline the land acquisition process. While the introduction of Bhoomi Rashi Portal and the other initiatives taken by the Ministry will resolve issues pertaining to land acquisition, the Committee still feels that a lot more needs to be done. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may monitor the impact of its initiatives in this regard and that the feedback collected in respect thereto may be used to find more effective solutions to the land acquisition issues faced in the projects. The Committee further recommends that efforts may be made to sort out issues with the stakeholders before the same landing up in Court, for litigations inevitably lead to more delays and higher project costs. (Para 99)
The Committee recommends that while sorting out the land acquisition issues, the Ministry may also explore the feasibility of roping in interested land owners, whose land has been acquired for projects of the Ministry, for providing wayside amenities to Highway users with monetary support from the Ministry/NHAI. (Para 100)
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The Committee notes with deep concern that the steeply rising land acquisition costs would lead to significantly higher costs of the road projects. The Committee recommends that this rise in land cost may be factored in while setting the long term targets of the Ministry to be funded by the National Infrastructure Pipeline. (Para 104)
DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS UNDER NH(O) The Committee appreciates the trend of higher allocation of Rs. 2,390 crores at RE 2019-20 stage for „Additional NH(O) for North East States‟ as against Rs. 700 crores in BE 2019-20, which has increased significantly to Rs. 3,130 crores at B.E. stage in 2020-21. The Committee hopes that the enhanced funds will not only allow the Ministry to complete its pending projects in the North-Eastern States, but also help in initiating new projects in the region. (Para 108)
The Committee appreciates the constant increase in target as well as achievements made in various types of development works under NH(O) head. (Para 110)
The Committee is not aware of the target the Ministry had set under the head NH(O) for the FY 2019-20. However, achievement of the target of 3,684 km during 2019-20 is certainly far-below the achievements of 6,189 km works achieved during FY 2018-19. (Para 113)
The Committee observes that although the aggregate length of NHs not covered under any scheme/programme is about 61,300 km, the length of NHs targeted under the Improvement of Riding Quality Programme (IRQP) is a meagre 567 km. The Committee desires to know why only 567 km has been targeted. The Committee recommends that significantly higher amount may be earmarked for this programme so as to ensure better maintenance on a much greater length of those NHs which are otherwise not covered under any scheme/programme. (Para 114)
The Committee may be apprised of the target the Ministry has set for the IRQP programme under NH(O) for the FY 2020-21. (Para 115)
EXTERNALLY AIDED PROJECTS (EAP) The Committee is happy to note that the Ministry has secured higher allocation under the head Externally Aided Projects and hopes that the Ministry will make optimal use of the funds during FY 2020-21.
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(Para 117)
The Committee notes that various Externally Aided Projects are facing issues related only to land acquisition. The Committee recommends the Ministry to actively pursue the matter with the concerned State Governments so as to minimize the delays caused. (Para 119)
The Committee would like to know the reasons due to which the works under World Bank Funding for NHIIP and JICA funding could not be achieved. The Committee recommends that measures may be taken to ensure that these projects stay on schedule and are completed on time. (Para 121)
SARDP-NE AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH PACKAGE OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS The Committee notes that the physical progress made by the Ministry under SARDP-NE scheme has fallen drastically in 2019-20, compared to the progress made in the year 2018-19. The Committee desires to know the reasons behind the slow progress made in SARDP-NE 2019-20. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take strong action against delays caused on part of a concessionaire after holistically assessing the genuine difficulties faced by concessionaires and blacklist them after exercising due diligence. (Para 125)
The Committee notes a huge delay of almost a decade in completion of the SARDP-NE Phase-A and Arunachal Pradesh Package which, not only caused inconvenience to the commuters, but also resulted into significant overcost in the project. The Committee observes that the issues causing the delay are specific to the region and hopes that the Ministry takes these into consideration while projecting timelines and expenditures for future projects in the region. The Committee recommends that efforts be made to solve these long-standing issues as development of road infrastructure in this region is crucial not only because of its strategic location, but also to further the scope of tourism in the North East region. (Para 130)
The Committee has been given to understand that construction of Roads in the North Eastern Region in general and Arunachal Pradesh in particular are progressing at a snail‟s pace. As the North Eastern Region is of great strategic importance to our country, the Committee recommends that all road projects being implemented should be given focussed attention and implemented within a prescribed timeframe and if need be, the works awarded may be retendered. (Para 131) 78
NORTH-EASTERN AREAS The Committee notes with dismay, the sharp drop in the length of road constructed as well as the expenditure incurred during the financial year 2019-20 till January, 2020. The Committee would like to know the reasons behind the near-halving of pace of construction and expenditure in the region. (Para 134)
SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ROADS IN THE LEFT WING EXTREMISM (LWE) AFFECTED AREAS The Committee notes that 5422 km out of the planned 5453 km length planned under this scheme, has been awarded. The Committee observes that although the Special Programme for Development of Roads in the LWE affected areas is nearing its completion, the physical achievement of target is decreasing every year. The Committee notes with concern that only 55 km of roads have been constructed under this Head in 2019-20 (till December, 2020). The Committee is afraid that at this pace, the remaining portion of the roads under this scheme will take several years to be completed. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may revisit the target it has set for 2020-21 and strive to complete the road projects under this scheme at the earliest. (Para 140)
CENTRAL ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (CRIF) The Committee appreciates the optimal utilization of Central Road Fund in FY 2018-19, but is distressed to note the low expenditure under the head CRIF (State Roads) in FY 2019-20 till January, 2020. The Committee may be apprised of the reasons behind the same. (Para 144)
The Committee is happy to note the healthy utilization of funds made under the Revenue Head in CRIF during the past two years. The Committee, however, notes with concern a decline of about 10% in the „Fund for State Roads including UTs of Delhi, Puducherry and J&K‟ in BE 2020-21. The Committee feels that State Governments already face lack of investment in their own infrastructure projects. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into the projected requirements for State Roads including UTs and approach the Ministry of Finance for higher allocation under this head at RE stage in 2020-21. (Para 148)
The Committee is distressed to note severe under-utilization of funds under almost all the important projects funded by CRIF in 2019-20 (till January, 2020), except Bharatmala and NH(O).The Committee observes that such a level of under-utilization of funds results in cuts in the Budgetary allocations of the Ministry, which in turn, hampers several of its crucial schemes. The Committee desires that the Ministry may 79 look into this matter seriously and evaluate the reasons behind the same. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make sincere efforts to optimally utilize the available funds and also avoid rushing through the expenditure at the end of the Financial Year. (Para 150)
CHAR DHAM PARIYOJANA The Committee notes that the Ministry is lagging far behind in completion of the Char Dham Pariyojana, the targeted time for completion of which was March, 2020. Only 1.1 km of length has been completed so far and work is ongoing in only 646 km stretch of the project, out of the 889 km length of the project. The Committee desires that the Ministry should look into the issues causing delays in the program and come up with a new timeline for its completion which may be strictly adhered to. (Para 153)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take cognizance of the upcoming Kumbh Mela and take effective steps to ensure that the connecting roads to the host city are in good condition and meet the traffic needs of the area during this large congregation. (Para 154)
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE & INTER STATE CONNECTIVITY (EI&ISC) The Committee feels that the under-utilization of funds under the EI&ISC head had resulted in reduced allocation of Rs. 400 crores at BE 2020-21 stage. The Committee feels that the importance of the projects under EI&ISC for the economic growth of the country cannot be undermined. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may look into the matter and make active efforts to ensure optimal utilization of the allocated funds in FY 2020-21. (Para 158)
BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA PHASE-I The Committee appreciates the ambitious targets set under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme. The Committee, however, feels that the Ministry is running way behind the schedule, with only 12,178 km being awarded/appraised, out of the 34,800 km length to be covered under the Phase-I till January, 2020, when the completion of Phase-I is targeted by 2021-22. Needless to say, the Ministry would be seriously lagging behind in terms of its originally targeted completion. The Committee notes that Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I is allocated a noticeable portion of the Ministry‟s funds every year and this being the flagship project of the Ministry at present, any delays would have significant bearing on the financial health of the Ministry since there is a direct relation between delays and expenditure incurred on a project. The Committee,
80 therefore, strongly recommends that the Ministry should strive to iron out the issues causing delays in timely completion of targets set for Bharatmala Phase-I. (Para 163)
PROJECTS LINKED TO COASTAL ROADS AND PORT CONNECTIVITY The Committee feels that the development of the 2000 km of coastal and port connectivity roads identified for Bharatmala Phase-I is going on at a snail‟s pace. Only 8.4% of the 2000 km has been awarded till 31st January, 2020 even when Bharatmala Phase-I is scheduled for completion by 2021-22. The Committee is of the view that the Ministry is way behind its targets and that the impact of the same will be borne by many of the ports across the country, since the planned coastal roads and port connectivity projects are aimed at removing a crucial bottleneck being faced in the growth of these ports and for easy cargo movement. (Para 165)
The Committee recommends that keeping in view the dependence of the growth of Shipping Sector in India on road connectivity, the Ministry may look into the issues causing delays in the project and resolve the same to ensure its speedy execution and completion. (Para 166)
ECONOMIC CORRIDORS AND STRATEGIC HIGHWAYS
The Committee takes note of the initiatives of the Ministry with regard to planned and ongoing development of Economic Corridors in the country and hopes that the Ministry is able to complete the development of the corridors as per the scheduled timeline. The Committee, however, finds that the North-Eastern region is absent from the planned/ongoing Economic Corridor projects of the Ministry. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make efforts to develop such economic corridors in the North-East as well, so as to ensure seamless connectivity of the NE region with the mainland. (Para 169)
The Committee notes that as compared to other projects under Bharatmala Phase-I, the length awarded for Strategic Highways till 31st January, 2020 is a healthy figure, even though it still might not be on track for completion by 2021-22, as targeted for completion of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I. The Committee recommends the Ministry to make necessary efforts to achieve the target as per the stipulated timeline. (Para 171)
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DELAYS IN ROAD PROJECTS The Committee is concerned to note that only about one out of four road projects has been completed on time by the Ministry in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Further, 47 projects out of the 205 projects completed i.e., about 23% of the projects completed during this period witnessed considerable delays of over 2 years. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should work out the expenditure it has to incur due to delay in road projects, along with the reasons behind the delays in each project. With significant increase in cost of land acquisition every year, the delayed road projects cost a significant amount to the Ministry every year. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry to look into the reasons for delays in road projects and systematically remove the bottlenecks faced in this regard. The Committee feels that a dedicated mechanism be set up to adjudicate the ongoing infrastructure related cases of the Ministry on urgent basis since the delays caused due to prolonged Court hearings lead to significant burden on the public exchequer, which ultimately impedes the growth of the country. (Para 177)
The Committee notes that almost all the major projects of the Ministry are running way behind their targeted timeline of completion. In view of this, the Committee recommends that the Ministry may set up a Special Delay Mitigation Cell with a task to chalk out solutions for delays being faced in the projects of the Ministry, in coordination with the stakeholders. This Cell may further analyze the impact these delays cause in terms of increase in expenditure incurred by the Ministry, loss caused in terms of GDP which would have been generated had the projects stayed on course etc. so as to portray a clear picture of the actual negative impact of delays in road infrastructure projects on the overall Indian economy. The Cell may be tasked to provide long-term solutions to the major issues faced in the road projects of the Ministry. (Para 178)
WORK FINANCED FROM PERMANENT BRIDGE FEE FUND (PBFF) The Committee hopes that the reduction in toll collection caused by the policy decision of the Ministry exempting tolling of projects costing less than Rs. 100 crore will not cause shortfall in the funding of NH works of the concerned States. The Committee recommends that the shortfall faced, if any, by the State Governments because of the policy decision, may be taken care of by the Ministry so as to avoid any delays in the ongoing projects under PBFF. (Para 180)
STATE PWD AND BORDER ROAD ORGANIZATION (BRO) The Committee would like to know the reason for huge variations in the percentage of funds allocated for Maintenance & Repairs in the various States and the
82 implications of the same, on the quality of road maintenance in the respective States. The Committee desires that a study may be undertaken to evaluate the quality of roads developed by State PWDs vis-à-vis NHAI and create a quality index. Such an index would push the State PWDs to make efforts to improve the quality of their Highways, enabling the Ministry to motivate the low performing States for higher allocation of funds for Maintenance & Repairs of Highways. (Para 182)
ROAD SAFETY The Committee appreciates the steps taken by the Ministry/NHAI to allow users to report an accident through the smartphone application NHAI Sukhad Yatra. The Committee recommends that the Ministry/NHAI should tie up with the National Emergency Number 112 to provide its emergency services in case of accidents since an average road user cannot be expected to remember different phone numbers for accidents happening on a National Highway or on a local road. The Committee recommends that the Ministry should look into addressing the issues being faced by the users with regard to the NHAI Sukhad Yatra application and take remedial steps. (Para 186)
The Committee notes that while the total number of road accidents has been decreasing since 2015, the number of fatal road accidents is increasing every year. The Committee would like the Ministry to evolve monitoring mechanisms for adherence of road safety standards at each stage of road construction and maintenance. (Para 188)
The Committee feels that one of the major reasons behind road accidents is the poor condition of roads. Presence of potholes can prove to be fatal, even more so in the rainy season. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may make provisions for speedy redressal of safety concerns on National Highways. The Committee feels that given the vast stretches of National Highways in the country, allowing road users to report potholes, lack of lighting, and other safety concerns through the use of smartphone application would be very helpful to receive information on such issues, along with pinpoint location. The Ministry/NHAI may then forward the complaints received to the concessionaire, responsible for the maintenance of the concerned road. User feedback may also be sought on resolution of the reported issue. The Committee desires that such solutions may be implemented and sufficient fund be provided for that purpose. (Para 189)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry may seek higher fund allocation for Road Safety, Maintenance & Repairs of Roads and Driver Training Programmes for effective measures to be taken to minimize the road traffic injuries and deaths, which causes irreparable loss of human lives. 83
(Para 190)
The Committee recommends that the safety of road travelers is paramount in each stage of construction and maintenance of road highways under the Ministry. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may look into the feasibility of provision for landing of helicopters at designated spots on the National Highways so that quick response is enabled in case of road accidents. (Para 191)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry may set up a portal in order to upload the proceedings of the District Road Safety Committee to ensure transparency and accountability of the same. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may consider broadening the mandate of the Road Safety Committee to cover issues regarding road safety on all roads including rural roads, State PWD roads and National Highways since the Committee finds that the State Governments are often lax in their approach to ensure safety on roads. (Para 192)
The Committee recommends that road stretches where fatal accidents take place due to bad condition of road or poor road design, sign boards may be put up as a precautionary measure and necessary remedial action may be taken. The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish status reports on the action taken regarding such black spots. (Para 193)
SAFETY OF WOMEN IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM The Committee is distressed to note that only miniscule expenditure has been made in two schemes, while zero amount has been spent on the two other schemes of the Ministry. The Committee feels that Indian roads are still unsafe for women especially those who travel alone and those who have to travel at night hours. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may proactively take up the matter with the concerned State Governments and resolve the issues which have stalled the execution of these projects. (Para 196)
TRAINING AND RESEARCH The Committee hopes that the Ministry is able to optimally utilize the higher funds allocated for Research, Training, Studies and Other Road Safety Schemes. (Para 201)
The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may make efforts to cover the entire country under its driver training programmes, in the light of the poor driving
84 habits of the average road user across the country. The Committee desires that the Ministry may explore the possibility of utilizing the MPLADS funds to carry out the driver training programmes in the respective constituencies of Members of Parliament. (Para 202)
The Committee appreciates the initiatives being taken by the Ministry to bolster research and training in the Road Sector in India. (Para 206)
CO-ORDINATION WITH STATE GOVERNMENTS The Committee recommends that the Ministry should provide budgetary support to the State Government to bolster their public transport system, in addition to the existing scheme of financial assistance to States/UTs for implementation of IT related projects. The Committee feels that pollution-hit States like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab should be given more funds to improve their public transportation systems and thus, possibly, put a check on the worsening pollution situation in these States. (Para 208)
The Committee feels that many of the projects of the Ministry face problems due to delayed action on the part of State Governments. The Committee recommends that the existing mechanism to coordinate with State Governments may be reviewed and revamped in order to improve the coordination between the Ministry and the State Governments. (Para 209)
NEED FOR BETTER CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN MINISTRIES The Committee is of the opinion that the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Culture, Tourism, Railways are not only inter-related and interconnected but also have a common objective to improve connectivity and better amenities for the benefit of tourists, travellers and faster movement of freight within the country. The Committee, therefore, feels that there is a pressing need for having an effective co-ordination mechanism among these Ministries so that the policies and guidelines being formulated by them are executed seamlessly and can supplement each other in achieving these objectives. This will not only increase effectiveness and efficiency, but will also help in utilization of funds and skilled manpower to the maximum possible extent. Therefore, the Committee recommends that an easy-to-use interface should be made available which allows hassle-free communication and co- ordination amongst them. A hotline number which is common to all these Ministries, may be established so that whenever emergency arises, there can be effective and prompt coordination among these Ministries and issues in hand can be resolved at the earliest.
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(Para 210)
EARMARKING OF OBLIGATED ALLOCATIONS FOR SCHEDULED CASTE SUB PLAN (SCSP) AND TRIBAL SUB PLAN (TSP) The Committee agrees with the Ministry‟s view that monitoring the beneficiaries especially on demographical distribution is not feasible in case of linear projects like National Highways. The Committee recommends that NITI Aayog may consider the request of the Ministry with regard to seeking exemption from mandatory earmarking of funds under SCSP. The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish the updated status regarding the request it made to NITI Aayog. (Para 212)
STAFFING IN NHAI The Committee notes that NHAI shoulders the responsibility to implement a large portion of the projects of the Ministry and NHAI has been managing these onerous responsibilities with inadequate manpower of 1081 personnel i.e., 57.2% of its sanctioned strength of 1890 posts. The Committee strongly recommends that the Ministry should look into the impact of the vacancies on the working of NHAI and take urgent measures to fill up vacancies existing in NHAI. (Para 215)
MISCELLANEOUS
CAG Report on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Toll Road The Committee desires that it may be apprised of the response given by the Escrow Bank as to why it is not accepting the requests of the Ministry to recover the damages in this matter and whether legal action can be taken against them for the same. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may take proactive measures to ensure that similar such cases do not recur in future. (Para 218)
Curbing excessive usage of horns The Committee feels that the average Indian road user is habituated to honking excessively which in turn contributes a lot to the noise pollution in big cities. Further, the Committee notes that the rules and laws are in place regarding fitting of loud horns on vehicles, but the same are not being implemented effectively. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may run promotional campaigns, especially on social media to promote responsible usage of horns. The same idea may also be advocated through the Driver Training Center Programme of the Ministry. (Para 223)
Timely clearance of payments to contractors 86
The Committee appreciates the development of the „GATI‟ portal and hopes that the issues raised by the contractors/concessionaires/user fee collecting agencies and consultants are addressed on time. The Committee would like the Ministry to provide a platform to the contractors to report their feedback/grievances to the higher authorities. (Para 225)
The Committee recommends that the Ministry may look into the feasibility of increasing the number of project milestones, especially in case of projects costing large amounts of money, as this will enable the release of payments to contractors in smaller instalments and reduce the need for contractors to finance huge amount of money from the lending institutions for long durations. (Para 226)
Public Project Monitoring Facility
The Committee feels that the general public has the right to know about the details and exact status of an ongoing road project as the same would establish accountability and transparency in the road projects. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry may develop an easily accessible online portal wherein, inter alia, details, present status, progress achieved in the project and contact details of the officer(s) responsible for ensuring the quality of the project, may be uploaded and updated on a regular basis. This would allow road users and general public to register their grievances regarding the quality of construction/maintenance work. (Para 228)
Promotion of Electric Vehicles in the country The Committee feels that exemption to battery operated/electric vehicles from payment of registration fees would encourage more people to buy electric vehicles and would also address pollution levels across the country. The Committee desires that it may be apprised of the status of the same. (Para 230)
With the growing acceptance of electric vehicles in the country, the Committee feels that the Ministry should look into the issue of lack of noises in electric vehicles‟ engine by way of provision of an inbuilt mechanism to emit sound to alert pedestrians and other vehicles. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may come up with rules/regulations prescribing certain minimum threshold of electronic noise which should be emitted by these vehicles so as to alert pedestrians and other vehicles. (Para 231)
The Committee feels that the traffic data available with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would be helpful for the Department of Heavy Industry in finalizing the locations of the charging stations for the electric vehicles, planned to be set 87 up across the country and therefore, recommends that the Ministry may coordinate with the Department of Heavy Industry in this regard. (Para 232)
Installation of Electronic Weighing Bridges at Toll Booths
The Committee recommends that the Ministry may install Electronic Weighing Bridges at Toll Booths in order to put a curb on rampant overloading of trucks in the country. The Committee feels that doing so would prevent damage to the roads and bridges, besides improving road safety. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may explore whether the Electronic Weighing system can be tied up with the Electronic Toll Collection system wherein a vehicle can be identified with the help of the FASTag and if it is found to be overloaded, a challan is generated then and there for the vehicle. (Para 233)
Coordination with Local Police Departments The Committee observes that checking of documents by policemen often leads to slowing down of traffic and sometimes even leads to accidents when high speed vehicles fail to notice a vehicle that has been stopped for document checking by the police. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may designate spots on the Highways, in consultation with the State police department, where the police could ask the vehicles to stop for checking of documents and/or vehicle. Provisions for the same could be incorporated at the design stage itself, wherever possible. (Para 234)
Issuance of Fitness Certificate from anywhere in the country The Committee feels that it is not always feasible for vehicle owners to travel to the city/State that they are registered in, in order to renew their fitness certificate, more so in case of long-haul truck drivers. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry should come up with a mechanism to permit vehicle owners to obtain fitness certificates for their vehicles from anywhere in the country by visiting their nearest local office. (Para 235)
Core group on Safety and Security
The Committee emphasizes the need for a combined robust security framework to ensure safety and security in sectors of Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Tourism and Railways. The Committee desires that in order to facilitate effective and periodic coordination among the concerned Ministries and agencies, a core group comprising officers at the level of Joint Secretary of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Tourism, Railways, Commissioner of Railway Safety and Petroleum may be set up to meet on monthly basis to chalk out 88 ways and means for addressing safety and security concerns in these sectors and ensure that international best practices are followed. This core group should be headed by Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. In order to upgrade to international standards, the services of consultants (both domestic and international) who are experts in the respective fields and have domain knowledge, may be engaged for preparing Reports so that they can be implemented. This core group may serve as a think-tank and formulate guidelines and directions to improve safety and security standards in these sectors. The Committee would like the Ministry to furnish the monthly Reports and status of implementation of its decisions, to the Committee. (Para 236)
Pending road projects in Telangana The Committee desires that Telangana being a newly formed State, priority should be given to execution of pending road projects in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. (Para 237) The Committee desires that the Ministry may furnish reasons behind the delay in allocation of NH number to the newly announced National Highway from Hyderabad junction of ORR at Gowrelly to junction at Kothagudem on NH-30, via Valigonda- Thorrur-Nellikudur-Mahabubabad-Yellandu in the Telangana State. The Committee notes that no maintenance activity has been done in respect of this road ever since it was declared as National Highway. The Committee recommends that the Ministry may take effective measures to resolve these issues at the earliest. (Para 238) Four-laning of National Highway connecting Thanjavur-Vikravandi The Committee notes that the four-laning of National Highway connecting Thanjavur-Vikravandi is not progressing well and desires that the same may be speeded up by way of intensive monitoring, and NH-63 connecting Thanjavur to Nagapattinam may be expedited. (Para 239)
Development of Sabarimala National Highway The Committee observes that no funds have been earmarked for the development of Sabarimala Natonal Highway (NH-183A) and is of the view that since lakhs of devotees visit the shrine of Sarbarimala, this project must be accorded priority and should be taken up without any delay and the hindrance coming in the way of development of this Highway should be sorted out in consultation with the State Government of Kerala. (Para 240)
***** 89
VII SEVENTH MEETING The Committee met at 11:00 P.M. on Thursday, the 20th February, 2020 in Room No. 63, Parliament House, New Delhi.
Members present: 1. Shri T.G. Venkatesh - Chairman
Rajya Sabha 2. Shri Prasanna Acharya 3. Shri Sambhaji Chhatrapati 4. Kumari Selja 5. Shri Tiruchi Siva
Lok Sabha 6. Shri Anto Antony 7. Shrimati Veena Devi 8. Shri Rahul Kaswan 9. Shri Ramesh Chandra Majhi 10. Shri Sunil Baburao Mendhe 11. Shri K. Muraleedharan 12. Shri S.S. Palanimanickam 13. Shri Chhedi Paswan 14. Shri Kamlesh Paswan 15. Shri Tirath Singh Rawat 16. Shri Dushyant Singh 17. Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane
SECRETARIAT Shri J. Sundriyal, Joint Secretary Shri P. Narayanan, Director Shri Dinesh Singh, Additional Director Ms. Catherine John L., Under Secretary
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WITNESSES
I * * *
II MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS
1. Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan Secretary
2. Ms. Leena Nandan Special Secretary
3. Shri I.K. Pandey Director General (RD) & Special Secretary
4. Shri Sanjay Kumar Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor
5. Shri Y. Balakrishna Additional Director General
6. Ms. Krishna Tyagi Pro.Chief Controller of Accounts
7. Shri Amit Kumar Joint Secretary
8. Shri Kamlesh Chaturvedi Joint Secretary
9. Shri S.P. Singh Joint Secretary
10. Ms. Babni Lal Economic Adviser
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL)
11. Shri Keshav Kumar Pathak Managing Director
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
12. Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Chairman
13. Shri Asheesh Sharma Member
14. Shri R.K. Pandey Member
15. Shri Alok Member
*** Relates to other matters.
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2. * * *
3. * * *
4. * * *
5. * * *
6. The Committee then reassembled at 2:00 P.M. after lunch.
7. The Chairman welcomed the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and other senior officials from the Ministry to the meeting. He requested the Secretary to apprise the Committee about the Ministry's budgetary allocations for 2020-21 and the steps proposed to be taken to deal with the settlement of debts of NHAI.
8. The Secretary made a detailed presentation on the salient features of the Demands for Grants (2020-21). He informed the Committee that the Ministry had projected a demand of Rs. 1,52,947 crores, against which the Ministry of Finance has allocated only Rs. 91,823 crores at the B.E. stage in 2020-21. Elaborating the physical achievements, he informed the Committee that the Ministry has completed construction of 7,925 km stretch of roads in the Financial Year 2019-20 till 31st January, 2020 against the target of 11,000 km in 2019-20. He further apprised the Committee about the steps being taken for identification and rectification of black spots in the country. He also briefed the Committee on the progress achieved in implementation of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) on Toll Plazas across the country and stated that the ETC penetration has reached 74%, averaging 37 lakh transactions amounting to Rs. 84 crores in a day.
9. As regards the increasing debt of NHAI, the Secretary shared the monetization plans of NHAI through Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) Model. He also elucidated upon the initiatives taken to speed up the process of land acquisition including comprehensive guidelines for uniform process of land acquisition across States.
*** Relates to other matters.
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10. The Members of the Committee then raised various queries, some of which were replied to by the Secretary. The Chairman directed that written replies to the queries which remained unanswered, may be sent to the Secretariat within a week.
(The witnesses then withdrew)
11. A verbatim record of the proceedings of the meeting was kept.
12. The meeting adjourned at 3:48 P.M.
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IX NINTH MEETING
The Committee met at 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, the 5th March, 2020 in Room '67', First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi.
Members present:
1. Shri T.G. Venkatesh - Chairman
RAJYA SABHA s 2. Shri Prasanna Acharya 3. Shri Derek O'Brien 4. Shri Tiruchi Siva 5. Shri Vinay Dinu Tendulkar
LOK SABHA
6. Smt. Sumalatha Ambareesh 7. Shri Anto Antony 8. Shrimati Veena Devi 9. Shri Tapir Gao 10. Shri Saumitra Khan 11. Ms. Goddeti Madhavi 12. Shri Sunil Baburao Mendhe 13. Shri Tirath Singh Rawat 14. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy 15. Shri Rajbahadur Singh 16. Shri Dushyant Singh 17. Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane SECRETARIAT Shri J. Sundriyal, Joint Secretary Shri P. Narayanan, Director Shri Dinesh Singh, Additional Director Ms. Catherine John L., Under Secretary
94
2. At the outset, the Chairman extended a very warm welcome to the Members of the Committee and sought their views on the following draft Reports of the Committee:-
(i) * * *; (ii) * * *; (iii) Draft Report on Demands for Grants (2020-21) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and (iv) * * *.
3. The Members of the Committee sought further time to go through the above cited draft Reports. The Chairman acceded to their request and it was then decided that a meeting will be held on 11th March, 2020 to consider and adopt the above mentioned draft Reports.
4. The meeting adjourned at 5:30 P.M.
*** Relates to other matters. 95
X TENTH MEETING
The Committee met at 4:00 P.M. on Wednesday, the 11th March, 2020 in Room '63', First Floor, Parliament House, New Delhi.
Members present:
1. Shri T.G. Venkatesh - Chairman
RAJYA SABHA s 2. Shri Prasanna Acharya 3. Dr. Sonal Mansingh 4. Shri Derek O'Brien 5. Kumari Selja 6. Shri Tiruchi Siva 7. Shri Vinay Dinu Tendulkar
LOK SABHA
8. Shri Anto Antony 9. Shri Tapir Gao 10. Shri Rahul Kaswan 11. Shri Sunil Baburao Mendhe 12. Shri K. Muraleedharan 13. Shri S.S. Palanimanickam 14. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy 15. Shri Dushyant Singh 16. Shri Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas SECRETARIAT Shri J. Sundriyal, Joint Secretary Shri P. Narayanan, Director Shri Dinesh Singh, Additional Director Ms. Catherine John L., Under Secretary
96
2. At the outset, the Chairman extended a very warm welcome to the Members of the Committee. He informed them that the agenda for the meeting is to consider and adopt the following Reports:-
(i) * * *; (ii) * * *; (iii) Draft Report on Demands for Grants (2020-21) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and (iv) * * *.
3. The Committee, thereafter, considered the draft Reports and after a brief deliberation, adopted the same with some changes.
4. The Committee then decided to present/lay the Reports to both the Houses of Parliament on 12th March, 2020. The Committee, accordingly, authorized Shri T.G. Venkatesh, Chairman and in his absence, Shri Tiruchi Siva, M.P. and in his absence, Kumari Selja, M.P. to present the Reports in Rajya Sabha. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, M.P. and in his absence, Shri K. Muraleedharan, M.P. were authorized to lay the above mentioned Reports on the Table of Lok Sabha.
5. The Chairman then thanked the Members and Secretariat for their contribution in the preparation of the Reports.
6. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 P.M.
*** Relates to other matters.
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ANNEXURE-I
The State/ UT wise details of State Roads constructed under CRF/CRIF and EI&ISC schemes during 2018-19 and 2019-20 (provisional upto December, 2019) is as under:
Length in km Length of Roads Length of Roads constructed under constructed under Sr. No. State/UT CRF / CRIF Scheme EI&ISC Scheme 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 1 Andhra Pradesh 528.00 505.00 0.00 0.00 2 Arunachal Pradesh 41.72 12.10 0.00 0.00 3 Assam 66.18 101.00 0.00 5.00 4 Bihar 6.00 36.15 0.00 0.00 5 Chhattisgarh 33.80 84.71 0.00 0.00 6 Goa 0.00 0.00 18.90 0.00 7 Gujarat 383.00 329.00 3.10 0.00 8 Haryana 61.00 60.00 0.00 0.00 9 Himachal Pradesh 20.30 43.77 5.54 18.60 10 Jammu and Kashmir 355.56 525.00 0.00 0.00 11 Jharkhand 39.50 30.30 0.00 0.00 12 Karnataka 1,571.69 233.17 0.00 0.00 13 Kerala 360.85 190.32 0.00 0.00 14 Madhya Pradesh 467.16 241.53 0.00 0.00 15 Maharashtra 537.82 292.00 0.00 0.00 16 Manipur 32.70 9.80 70.20 0.00 17 Meghalaya 0.00 91.07 0.00 7.03 18 Mizoram 17.80 6.00 0.00 0.00 19 Nagaland 14.03 10.00 43.04 10.55 20 Odisha 120.99 59.00 18.54 4.00 21 Punjab 190.72 200.00 0.00 0.00 22 Rajasthan 353.00 230.00 0.00 0.00 23 Sikkim 11.43 1.51 9.23 0.05 24 Tamil Nadu 618.84 758.97 40.00 0.00 25 Telangana 421.00 150.00 6.60 0.00 26 Tripura 9.00 64.00 0.00 0.00 27 Uttar Pradesh 1,403.49 1,162.63 37.00 0.00 28 Uttarakhand 30.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 29 West Bengal 12.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 30 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 8.00 8.25 0.00 0.00 31 Chandigarh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 32 Dadar and Nagar Haveli 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 33 Daman and Diu 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 34 Delhi 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 35 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36 Puducherry 0.00 27.26 0.00 0.00 37 Laddakh 0.00 15.00 0.00 0.00
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ANNEXURE-II
99
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ANNEXURE-III
Manpower Position as on 01.01.2020
Deputation Place of posting Sr. Group Sanctione Regula Other Contrac Head ROs Tota Vacanc No Designation A/B/C/ MoRT d post r Organisation t quarter PIUs/CMU l y . D H s s s CGM A 1 CGM (Tech.) A 26 10 9 3 0 14 8 22 4 2 CGM (P&S) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 CGM (S.R.D&Q) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 CGM (Safety) A 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 CGM (HR& Admn) A 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 6 CGM(LA) A 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 7 CGM(Finance) A 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 8 CGM(IT) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 CGM(legal) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 CGM/Financial 10 A 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 Analyst) 11 CGM(Utility Shifting) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total A 38 13 9 5 1 19 8 28 10 GM 12 GM(Tech) A 150 82 26 21 1 33 96 129 21 13 GM (Admn.) A 6 1 0 3 0 4 0 4 2 14 GM(F&A) A 5 1 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 15 GM (IT) A 5 2 0 1 0 3 0 3 2 101
16 GM(Legal) A 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 GM (LA&EM) A 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 GM(Env.) A 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 19 GM(Electronics) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 GM (Legal 20 A 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Compliances) Total A 174 88 26 29 1 47 96 143 31 DGM 21 DGM(Tech.) A 300 66 3 51 0 11 109 120 180 22 DGM(Admn.) A 14 0 0 10 0 10 0 10 4 23 DGM(IT) A 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 24 DGM(Legal) A 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 25 DGM( Env.) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 DGM(Media 26 A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Relations) 27 DGM(F&A) A 17 11 0 0 0 5 6 11 6 Total 339 79 3 61 0 27 115 143 196 Manager 28 Manager(Env) A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 29 Manager(Tech.) A 389 103 16 65 0 34 150 184 205 30 Manager(Admn.) A 18 4 0 6 0 9 1 10 8 31 Manager(F&A) A 46 2 0 0 1 2 1 3 43 32 Manager(IT) A 4 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 2 33 Manager (Legal) A 5 1 0 2 0 3 0 3 2 34 Manager(Rajbhasha) A 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
102
Total 464 110 16 75 2 51 152 203 261
Dy. Manager A 35 Dy. Manager(Tech.) A 205 85 21 0 0 34 72 106 99 36 Dy.Manager(IT) A 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 37 Dy.Manager(Vig.) A 4 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 2 Total 231 85 21 2 0 36 72 108 123 38 Hindi Officer A 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 Senior Librarian & 39 A 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Information Officer 40 Librarian A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Senior Principal 41 A 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Private Secretary Principal Private 42 A 28 24 0 0 0 21 3 24 4 Secretary Assistant Manager 43 B 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 (Legal) Assistant 44 B 12 4 0 2 0 6 0 6 6 Manager(Admn.) 45 Accounts Officer B 40 3 0 3 0 1 5 6 34 46 Private Secretary B 56 48 0 0 0 29 19 48 8 47 Personal Assistant B 170 142 0 1 0 76 67 143 27 Library & Information 48 B 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Assistant 49 Hindi Translator B 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 50 Jr. Hindi Translator B 3 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 103
Caretaker & 51 B 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Storekeeper 52 Parliament Assistant B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 53 Protocol Assistant B 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 54 Senior Receptionist B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 55 Senior Record Keeper B 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 56 Cashier B 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 57 Jr. Accounts Officer B 118 98 0 0 2 18 82 100 18 Total 463 324 0 12 3 162 177 339 124 58 Accountant C 88 84 0 0 2 23 63 86 2 59 Steno C 82 22 0 0 0 4 18 22 60 60 Receptionist C 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 61 Staff Car Driver C 3 3 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 Admn. Assistant 62 C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (Stores) 63 Electrician C 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 Senior Multi Tasking 64 C 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 Staff 65 Multi Tasking Staff C 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 Total 181 114 0 0 3 36 81 117 64 Grand Total 1890 813 75 184 10 378 701 1081 809
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ANNEXURE-IV List of witnesses who appeared before the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture
20th February, 2020 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 1. Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan Secretary 2. Ms. Leena Nandan Special Secretary 3. Shri I.K. Pandey Director General (RD) & Special Secretary 4. Shri Sanjay Kumar Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor 5. Shri Y. Balakrishna Additional Director General 6. Ms. Krishna Tyagi Pro.Chief Controller of Accounts 7. Shri Amit Kumar Joint Secretary 8. Shri Kamlesh Chaturvedi Joint Secretary 9. Shri S.P. Singh Joint Secretary 10. Ms. Babni Lal Economic Adviser National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) 11. Shri Keshav Kumar Pathak Managing Director National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) 12. Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Chairman 13. Shri Asheesh Sharma Member 14. Shri R.K. Pandey Member 15. Shri Alok Member
105