Private road builders for NHAI with more teeth

Close on the heels of the proposed meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss implementation bottlenecks in the roads sector.

Close on the heels of the proposed meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss implementation bottlenecks in the roads sector,private road developers have suggested a slew of measures to the road transport and highways ministry to expedite the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP).

In a representation to Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi,major infrastructure players including L&T,GMR,Gammon,Shapoorji Pallonji and Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) have suggested the government to revamp the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),delegate more powers to the field offices and appoint more sector specific experts.

One of the key suggestions made by the private players includes streamlining the role of the top management of the NHAI and doubling its current board strength to speed up implementation. Developers have also said that the pace of work was suffering due to poor quality of detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared by the authority,delays in contract award,change of scope of works,hindrances in declaring commercial date of operations and toll notifications among other issues.

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The submission details about ten key areas where the NHAIs performance is found wanting in the private sectors view. The suggestions hold significance as the Prime Minister has asked Joshi to expedite the long-pending restructuring of NHAI and speed up work to reach the 20 km a day target.

The developers have asked for a nine member board with each function being overseen by a member. They have also called for delegating more powers to the field offices.

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