Work on the National Highway-39 road project via Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, which has been pending for the last 10 years due to delay in land acquisition, will be completed by December this year, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Parliament on Wednesday.
During Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Gadkari -- who is in-charge of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways -- said the project was initially awarded to Gammon India in September 2013 which could not start the work. Therefore, the project was re-issued via tender to another company in June 2021.
The length of the road to be constructed under the project is 105.59 km at a cost of Rs 530 crore. The Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Ltd. (MPRDC) has sent a proposal for sanctioning of Rs 31.11 crore, which will be approved soon, he said. "I am personally monitoring the project and before December the work will be completed," he added.
According to the Minister, the delay in implementation is also due to pending land acquisition and clearance of encroachment on part of the state government. "The encroachment in 1.8 km main highway and 4.85 km service road has to be removed. This is a job of a collector. The land acquisition of 800 metres and 256 metres of main highway and 546 metres of service road is pending," he said.
The project was sanctioned in 2013 and it has been 10 years now but the land acquisition has not happened, he added. The minister also said it is unfortunate that the project has not been able to take off and contractors are facing one problem or other. "I feel guilty conscious while replying (about this project)." This is among the two projects in the country which is unfortunately stuck for long time, he said and urged the member to follow up the work that the state government has to undertake under this project.
Replying to another query on delay in commencement of the Prayagraj-Mirzapur National Highway project in Uttar Pradesh that was announced six years ago, the minister said National Highway (NH) number has not been allocated for this yet and therefore work has not begun.
"Right now, we can work on those NH which have been allotted with a number. That expense is high. Till this road is not allotted with a number, we cannot spend," he said. The minister said an immediate solution cannot be found for this but assured that the project will be taken up at an opportune time.
Replying to another query on rise in accidents on the Doda-Kishtwar highway, the minister said there is new technology used for installing crash barriers on highways in difficult terrains. This is an expensive technology but has been tried in some of the hilly states. "The spot you are mentioning, we will verify and see how we can reduce accidents," he added.
