Modi government blames the UPA government for the appalling condition of the road projects
The country’s poor infrastructure had brought down the growth of the nation, and after the elections, the entire nation was hoping for the Modi government to expedite growth. However amidst the measures which the new government is taking, they have also started blaming the UPA government for the wrong policies. There were road projects which were awarded without land acquisition, and about 60 % of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) schemes are laden with disputes.
The white paper on NHAI released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said on Wednesday that the actions of the Department of Financial Services (DoFS) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) brought the entire road sector to its knees. Awarding the project was just a number game which was done without considering the implications and checking the information.
The NHAI was brought under pressure to award projects without land acquisition and other regulatory clearances. 189 out of 332 NHAI projects in 20 states involving Rs 27,210 crore are stuck in disputes. The ministers were not working in tandem and they took actions which were against national interest just to safeguard their own ministries.
The paper mentioned that due to the awarding of projects without any strategy, the NHAI had to go into a fire fighting mode fighting a losing battle. He also mentioned that the developers lost opportunities, lenders had to cope with defaults in debt servicing and many projects turned into non-performing assets (NPAS), the public could not avail benefits of completed roads and government itself lost enormous revenues.
Source- The Economic Times
Department of Financial Services (DoFS), Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI), non-performing assets (NPAs), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Road projects, UPA government
