Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana informed Lok Sabha that the pace of execution of national highway projects has slowed because of various hurdles.
The hurdles include delay in land acquisition, shifting of utilities, environmental and forest clearances, the minister informed.
He also pointed to the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled manpower and economic slowdown as further roadblocks.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) set up Regional Offices in order to expedite implementation of the projects, the minister said.
These offices work towards expediting forest, environmental clearances and monitor land acquisition matters as well as implementation of projects. Special Land Acquisition units have also been set up to expedite land acquisition.
The development and maintenance of National Highways is a continuous process. Periodic assessment of the condition of the highways is carried out by the executive agencies for taking up remedial measures keeping in view the type and extent of damages.
It may be noted that the total estimated investment target for Central Sector Roads and Transport during 12th Five Year Plan is close to Rs 4 lakh crore.
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