As much as 3,265 km of stuck road projects worth Rs28,663 crore, stalled for about 2 years, will kickstart soon with the environment ministry delinking environment and forest clearances.
As much as 3,265 km of stuck road projects worth Rs28,663 crore, stalled for about 2 years, will kickstart soon with the environment ministry delinking environment and forest clearances.
In 2011, following a Supreme Court judgment on cement major Lafarge, the environment ministry linked environment and forest clearances by making it mandatory to secure both before starting construction of highways.
Until then, contractors used to start construction at stretches where at least the environment clearance had been secured.
A senior ministry official told DNA, “There are a total of 23 projects in which work could not be initiated due to the extension of the Supreme Court’s Lafarge decision on highway projects as well. Since these projects were already awarded, and funds tied up, work is likely to begin soon.”
These include big-ticket ones such as the Rs5,387 crore Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ajmer project (555 km) bagged by GMR Infrastructure in July 2011, an Amravati to Maharashtra-Gujarat border project worth Rs4,506 crore (484 km) bagged by L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd, and Jabalpur-Rewa project worth Rs1,900 crore, being implemented by Soma Tollway Ltd.
Most of the 23 projects were won on the basis of negative viability gap funding – or premium that a bidder offers to the National Highways Authority of India because they find it lucrative.
The ministry officials are, however, finding it difficult to explain what will be the fate of the projects in which bidders have withdrawn due to delays caused by the policy loopholes on forest clearance front.
GMR had withdrawn from the mega Rs5,387 crore Udaipur project in January this year, while GVK exited from the Rs3,000 crore Shivpuri-Dewas project.
The award of highway projects in the current financial year has also taken a hit owing to policy inconsistencies.
Against a target of 9,000 km of projects, only 850 km have been awarded thus far in the current financial year.
The ministry hopes to construction of 4600 km this fiscal translating into 12.6 km of buildouts a day.
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