Does making a safe road amount to over-engineering?

With an eye on his 20-km-a-day
target, transport minister Kamal Nath is chalking out a financing and borrowing plan in consultation with the finance ministry. At a media interaction recently, Nath took yet another dig at the Planning Commission. He said highway construction is not only about infrastructure creation or innovative funding model, but also about addressing public distress. Excerpts:
 
What is the ministry’s plan regarding the long-term funding of highways, an aspect that still remains unaddressed?
We are in consultation with the finance ministry to work out a financing plan for highway development. With so much investments coming in and NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) funding to meet its debt, there should be no problem.

The private sector is coming up with long-term infrastructure bonds. When will NHAI issue such instruments for long-term funding?
There is going to be full planning of borrowing by the NHAI also. In the mean time, the Rs50,000 crore debt fund for infrastructure is likely to come in handy for highway construction as well. The fund is not only for roads, but also for across infrastructure sectors. The question is how much each sector can absorb.

The Planning Commission had some concerns related to over-engineering, among others. Have all the concerns been sorted out?
The point is, anybody can have concerns. But if anybody can do it better, let them do it. What is over-engineering? I also don’t want over-engineering. I constantly ask my officials to explain high costs of a project. I recently visited the Delhi-Jaipur highways and questioned why there is no bypass at Kotputli. They said the Planning Commission did not agree. However, when I went there, people complained that they would die in such a situation. Is constructing a by-pass over-engineering? Is making a safe road considered over-engineering? Finally, addressing public distress is also a prime issue.

How far have we achieved the 20-km a day target set by the government? What additional efforts are required to achieve it, and by when would it happen?
We are currently going at the rate of 12.5 km of highways construction in a day. We will attain the 20-km a day pace in the next one year. The most important step required is strengthening the institutional set up of the NHAI. We have made regional offices, recruited a core team, 90% people were on deputation. NHAI also has to expedite the processes. You cannot just blame it on other government departments. While one has to process it, the other has to follow up. When you approach the environment ministry, you have to go with the proper paper work, which takes six months. We can’t only blame the environment ministry.

What are the concerns in the environmental clearance of the roads? What length is stuck owing to that?
See, there are two kinds of development. Firstly, where the road already exists and has to be upgraded to a two-lane, four-lane, or more in the same alignment. The other aspect is building a new road on a new alignment. So, for any road that is already there, what environmental clearance do we need? So a group of ministers are looking into an institutional mechanism to evaluate environmental impact where it is required. As of now, we have just 80-90 km alignment stuck in environment issues.

How is the government faring on the expressway front? Has the ministry accepted the draft expressway authority bill compiled by the NHAI?
The expressway development has to be greenfield, which means new alignment. New land has an issue. We are in talks with the state governments about what they feel, because at the end, the state governments have to participate in land acquisition.

When will the bill finally take shape?
Once I am through with discussions with the state governments on the issue of land acquisition. They are also very sensitive on the land issue.

Last year, your ministry spoke about funding expressways with real estate development along the corridor. Has anything been finalised yet?
I believe NHAI should not get into any real estate development at all. We said state governments should do it. It is a matter of the state government, requiring approvals of panchayats and state governments.

Highway tendering has happened, but not at a desired pace. When do you see things picking up?
Several things such as feasibility study have to be done before a contract is awarded. You can’t expect feasibility study to be done in six months. Also, the study assesses the present traffic, not what is going to happen five year from now. It is time consuming.