To check roads graft,link payments to output: WB

Under the OPRC model,payments to the contractor are based on output and service levels defined in the contract. The contractor is made fully responsible for the design,durability and performance of the road he builds for a specified time. States like Punjab and Gujarat have experimented with this contract for projects involving maintenance of state highways. The World Bank is learnt to have asked the National Highways Authority of India NHAI last year to look at alternative ways to award road contracts,following which the authority had floated an expression of interest.

But the MoRTH disagrees. The new EPC is coming out soon,and would address all issues of delays in construction of roads. While initially we will use it for road contracts for two-laning of roads,its scope can always be expanded as and when needed, a ministry official said.

The proposed EPC would be a hybrid between item rate and turnkey contract. The contractor would have freedom to design,engineer and execute the project based on government specifications. NHAI would pay a lumpsum to the concessionaire,incentivise developers who build ahead of schedule,and penalise those who build poor-quality roads.