NHAI to get a leg-up

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have initiated a number of steps for speedy completion of national highway projects. These steps include streamlining of process of land acquisition and other statutory clearances, harmonious substitution of concessionaire, re-scheduling premium quoted by concessionaries, securitisation of road sector loans, introduction of revamped dispute resolution mechanism, close coordination with other ministries etc. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has also de-linked the grant of environmental clearance from the forest clearance for linear projects and treated the strengthening and widening of national highway projects differently from the new projects and allowed the construction of the NH in the non-forest areas. Reserve Bank of India has also advised all scheduled commercial banks to treat road sector debt as secured within the limits of 90 per cent of the debt due.