- As you are aware, transportation mobility using different modes vis-à-vis road, sea, and the air is extremely crucial for the nation’s economic development agenda. If the prospective investors are to make their presence felt in any country, the least the government of the day could ensure provisioning is adequate infrastructure facilities, especially good roads combined with easy connectivity. In the absence of these basic amenities, the investors are bound to not only reconsider their decision to pump-in huge investments but also not mind shifting their gaze elsewhere offering ease of doing business with welcoming infrastructure in place. How does Indian transport infrastructure fare in comparison to other aspirational societies? Let’s delve.
PC: S. K. Khanna
- We know a lot has been achieved vis-à-vis building national highways under the leadership of the incumbent union transport minister and the NDA government in the last eight years or so. However, reports of substandard maintenance on these newly laid national highways are gaining ground over the last few months. Of course, this year’s southwest monsoon was bountiful. But if it delighted monsoon trackers, it was a source of misery for road travellers. Mind you, roads are India’s dominant mode of transport, measuring 6.3 million kilometers by 31st March 2019. Intriguingly, the national highways comprise a mere 2% of this sprawling system, but they’re the country’s arterial network which should be accorded due importance.
- On paper, their quality is benchmarked against international best practices. But numerous reports of dilapidated NHs underline something is broken in the overall approach to road building and maintenance for sure. For instance, the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 saw a hiked toll come into effect from 01st September, but remains incomplete and painfully potholed. Remember, seven years ago the Supreme Court ruled that road concessionaires cannot collect tolls from commuters if roads are in bad shape. High courts have echoed similar views as well. A clue to why the problem persists lies in a reply the Union Government provided recently to a parliamentary standing committee.
PC:
- The annual budgetary outlay for maintenance and repairs is only about 40% of the estimated need as per its own norms. This data pertains to NHs directly under Union Government’s supervision. The budgetary allocation for maintenance is less than 4% of the overall budget. Resource allocation, therefore, is lopsided with an expansion of NHs getting a disproportionate share. As reported, Niti Aayog wants the maintenance allocation to be raised in the interim to at least 10% before aiming for the 40-50% share that developed countries have. Thus, recalibrating the overall approach is a must. Road building and maintenance need an immediate upgrade. Road quality must be enhanced if it’s going to be in sync with the overall logistics plan. Act now.
