• In last 5 months of the NDA government: 438.4 kms

• In the first 7 months (June-Dec 2004) of UPA: 1659 kms

What is the contribution of the UPA for “completion” of 1,659 kms of highways? It can at best, take credit for supervising an on-going work. But is it not extremely improper to pull-down the NDA government’s work on such manipulated data?

Let me give the factual position on the ground as on 31 May 2004—this data is based on the UPA government’s 53rd monthly report on NHDP projects as on 31 May 2004. The progress of construction was this when the NDA vacated office.

• The UPA has claimed that they completed 2,777 kms in 620 days (upto 31 January, 2006), which works out to 4.48 kms a day

• Out of this 2,777 kms, 1926.0151 km was already completed by NDA government upto 60-90% and about 160 kms more than 95%.

• Do the UPA government—the prime minister and the finance minister—think that these figures (UPA’s 4.48 km/day and NDA’s 1.86 km/day) is a legitimate claim or is it misusing data and bluffing the people to run down the NDA government?

As for the comparison of the two governments’ performance on the speed of construction of 4-lane highways, let us compare the “comparables”.

The NDA government had conceptualized NHDPI, II and III; planned and executed or commenced execution—except (84 Kms), of NHDPI, planned and completed some stretches of NHDP II and completed bulk of all planning activities of NHDP III.

... contd.