NHAI fails to meet Q1 highway upgrade target

The total length of highways upgraded in the first quarter this fiscal was 19.6 per cent lower,at 417 km,than the achievement of 518.91 km in the April-June period of 2010,the report said.

During the April-June quarter this fiscal,the NHAI had set a target to spend Rs 8,672 crore,but it could only spend Rs 6,030.23 crore,which is 30 per cent less then the envisaged expenditure on highways projects. However,the NHAI8217;s expenditure on highways upgrading work in the April-June period was higher than the Rs 3,966.54 crore it spent in the same period last year. The authority aims to upgrade 2,500 km of highways this fiscal.

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has set a target for awarding 7,300 km of road upgrading work in the current fiscal. India has a large network of 3.3 million km of roads,out of which national highways constitute only 70,548 km. To augment the network,the government plans to build 35,000 km of roads by 2014.

The government is looking at an investment of over Rs 2.64 lakh crore in the road sector in the next five years,of which the private sector would contribute over 65 per cent.