The Union Road Transport and Highways ministry
has come under severe criticism from the parliamentary standing committee for its delay in completing various projects.
The ministry came under attack for not "properly utilising" the funds allocated to develop road networks in Maoist-affected areas.
"The project was started in 2009 with a target to
develop 5,477 km of roads in 34 districts of eight Maoist-affected states. But the ministry could only complete 1,335 km of road length till March 2012, almost less than 25 per cent of the total target," a report presented by the parliamentary standing committee on transport noted.
"The committee feels that more delay would 'defeat the purpose' of the project as more and more people of such areas need to be linked to the mainstream," it added.
Apart from the Maoist areas, the ministry was also found to have neglected the North-East region.
"As against the 38 road projects sanctioned under the Special Area Development Project-North-East, only eight are progressing well, but work on the rest is yet to start," the report observed.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), too, came in for sharp criticism from the members, who were unanimous in noting that the "NHAI is not in a position to complete any project", hinting at the pending projects, including the Golden Quadrilateral that links the four metropolises.
The members also questioned the ministry for avoiding capital Patna in the National Highway Development Project (NHDP), which is aimed at connecting all state capitals.
Courtesy: Mail Today 
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