Committee Report- Issues Relating to Roads Sector | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Addressing Structural Issues

Our focus must be directed towards three key structural challenges:

• Advancing Physical Infrastructure Development
• Enhancing Human Capital Development

Revitalizing the Rural Economy

These initiatives are vital for sustaining long-term growth at a rate of 7 to 8 percent and achieving our $5 trillion economy target by 2024.

Infrastructure Development:

• Investing in infrastructure will have a ripple effect throughout the economy, bolstering private investment, aggregate demand, and employment opportunities.
• Historically, the construction sector has been a significant contributor to job creation. To reignite growth and employment, reviving this sector is paramount.
• The government is expediting public capital expenditure, urging public sector enterprises (PSEs) to increase investments, and expediting the clearance of pending bills for both corporate entities and MSMEs.
• The Vijay Kelkar committee's recommendations on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are pertinent. The private sector's involvement is crucial for success.

Funding:

• The Committee has noted that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is burdened with substantial liabilities.
• To alleviate the debt servicing burden of NHAI, the Committee suggests exploring funding from domestic and foreign insurance companies and pension funds. Additionally, it suggests seeking RBI's support to classify the road infrastructure sector as eligible for priority sector lending.
• Acknowledging the stressed assets in the road sector, the Committee recommends mandating the National Infrastructure Investment Fund and the upcoming Development Finance Institution (announced in the Budget session) to facilitate the transfer of long-term infrastructure loans from banks.

Contract Awards

• The Committee has highlighted that the current practice of awarding road projects to the lowest bidder may result in unrealistic bids.
• To ensure the quality of road construction in contracts, the Committee proposes: (i) establishing a minimum threshold below which bids may not be considered, (ii) maintaining a central database to evaluate the contractors' work quality, (iii) breaking down large projects into smaller segments to attract smaller contractors, and (iv) revising the tender awarding process in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission.

Project Preparation Review:

• The Committee recognized the need to thoroughly review Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to ensure their quality.
• To pinpoint and mitigate potential delays, the Committee suggested: (i) consulting the area's Member of Parliament and the local community, (ii) acquiring additional land along the proposed route based on long-term traffic forecasts, (iii) preventing the construction of parallel roads adjacent to planned toll roads, and (iv) establishing accountability for officials from the project report drafting stage to project completion.

Project Completion Delays:

• The Committee observed time overruns and identified land acquisition as a primary cause of delays.
• To tackle these time overruns, the Committee proposed: (i) conducting time-bound recruitment for the numerous vacancies at NHAI, particularly at the senior level, (ii) offering flexibility in the upfront contributions for land acquisition by state governments, and (iii) allowing state governments to share some of the land capture value with previous owners.

Road Maintenance

• The Committee noted insufficient fund allocation for maintaining National Highways.
• It recommended: (i) employing network survey vehicles and drones for regular highway network quality assessments, and (ii) incorporating dedicated underground utility corridors in upcoming projects to prevent patchwork.

Road Safety:

• The Committee observed that less than 50% of identified black spots have undergone long-term rectification measures.
• To enhance road safety, the Committee proposed: (i) testing construction material quality for defects, particularly through third-party audits, (ii) mandating the submission of video recordings to verify road markings and signage, and (iii) setting timeframes for NHAI and state government officials to rectify black spots.

Assessment and Ranking:

• The Committee noted that highway safety holds a 35% weightage in their highway assessment framework.
• It recommended assigning scores to all projects, including those executed by state governments.