UP to soon be inked in the pact
Eighteen states today signed agreements with the Union Transport Ministry, a move which will expedite road projects under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) through public private partnership mode, a top government official said.
On Uttar Pradesh’s refusal to sign the pact, he said, UP had agreed to sign it earlier but now they have not given any reason for it. Sources said the Uttar Pradesh government had conveyed its decision to the Centre to not to sign SSA on April 6, 2010.
Sources said the state government had refused to sign the pact after the Centre delayed in signing the Umbrella SSA and transferred some highway projects which were to be developed by the UP Public Works Department (UPPWD) to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that a ‘stake support pact’ would soon be linked with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government for construction of roads and highways under the public-private partnership (PPP) model in the state.
In a bid to launch an all-new highway maintenance scheme, the minister has decided to rope in some unemployed civil engineers to maintain stretches of highways.
Source: Hindustan Times
National Highways Authority of India, national highways development project, NHDP, Nitin gadkari, Public-private partnership, Union Transport Ministry, UP Public Works Department, Uttar Pradesh
