Setting up of authority on expressways may be put on backburner

NEW DELHI: The government may defer the setting up of an authority for building expressways proposed by former road transport and highways minister, Kamal Nath, because of problems in land acquisition. Nath had proposed setting up of an Expressways Authority of India, a separate body modeled on the lines of the National Highways Authority of India, to ensure faster movement of goods. He was of the view that the expressways should be dealt with separately.

However, a government official said there was no need for a separate body for the execution of expressways as the NHAI could form a new wing to take control of such projects. The delays in construction of existing road projects and a manpower crunch at NHAI are other factors hindering progress of construction of expressways.

"The problems in setting up an (separate) Authority are delays in completion of the existing projects, hurdles in fresh land acquisition and not enough manpower to execute these projects," the official said. "It is difficult to fill existing positions in NHAI... There is a dearth of human resources."

The ministry aims to build 7,000 km of roads annually and has assigned the task of constructing 20 km of road per day to NHAI. It has also envisaged constructing 15,600-km expressways network in three phases by 2022, the terminal year of the 13th Five-Year Plan.