Barely 31 per cent of 6,300 km highways completed by October

NEW DELHI: Barely 31 per cent of the 6,300 km of National Highways targeted for the current fiscal have been constructed by October because of problems like delays in land acquisition and green nod, the government said today.

"About 6,300 km are targeted for construction under various schemes of the ministry during 2014-15... A total of 1,984 km has been constructed up to October 2014," Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The projects saw an expenditure of Rs 13,245 crore by October, out of Rs 33,220 crore earmarked for 6,300 km.

He said the highway projects were affected due to "land acquisition, utility shifting, environment/forest/wildlife clearances, issues pertaining to RoBs (railway over bridges) with Ministry of Railways and slow progress by the contractor".

Besides they were also impacted on account of inability of developers to generate equity funds, non-availability of soil/aggregates, public agitation for additional facilities, arbitration/contractual disputes with contractors, he said.

"The progress of the projects has been reviewed to sort out the issues related to slow progress and inadequate funds," he said, adding that other steps were also being taken.