The cost overruns were because of rise in prices of construction materials, delay in land acquisition, utility shifting and obtaining clearances from forest/environment, he said during Question Hour. Poor performance of some contractors and law and order problems in some states were some other reasons.
With a large number of Indian youth aspiring to work in the railways, delays in filling up railway job vacancies were a point of criticism against the BJP in the run-up to the elections.
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
Bommai rejected all the key infrastructure related proposals of Kerala, saying it will damage the eco-sensitive zones and wildlife sanctuaries.
The Delhi police had on Saturday increased security arrangements by deploying additional personnel and placing more concrete barriers.
Road construction witnessed a near 60 per cent year-on-year jump in the first two months of financial year 2021-22 (FY22), despite restrictions being imposed in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19. Around 1,470 km of roads were constructed during the first two months of the current fiscal, as against 847 km in the corresponding period last year, according to official figures. However, these are provisional numbers as the state public works departments of Maharashtra and Goa are yet to provide data.
Though some operators offer the facility of tag lanes, such tags can only be used at designated points.
Modi was born on September 17, 1950 in a small town in Gujarat.
The move comes in the wake of India raising cap on foreign institutional investors investment by $5 billion in government and corporate bonds each.
The projects are to be given out on design, build operate, finance and transfer basis and are part of third phase of the National Highways Development Project, the government's programme to develop road infrastructure across the country.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
The strategic 900-km-long Chardham project worth Rs 12,000 crore aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns -- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath -- in Uttarakhand.
Speaking during the Question Hour, the road transport and highways minister said the country has set several world records in road construction despite COVID-19. The construction of Zoji La tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway will be completed before 2024, while another Z-Morh tunnel will be completed in the next three months, he added.
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
Torrential rains pounded the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of North Bengal, causing landslides that cut off National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country.
In what could be a shot in the arm for the National Highway Development Programme, the National Highway Authority of India is all set to receive a windfall of Rs 471 crore
Gadkari is credited with the construction of more than 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the country in the last 10 years.
The Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari) has criticized the Punjab government for issuing arrest warrants against 25 farmers and adding an attempt to murder charge in the FIR related to the 2022 prime minister security breach incident. The union claims the farmers were protesting peacefully and had no knowledge of the prime minister's route. They argue the government is acting under pressure from the central government.
33 per cent of all road accidents and 35 per cent of fatal accidents took place on national highways and expressways.
At the heart of his criticism is the delay in decision making and a lack of monitoring. Some officials, however, blamed the delays on overambitious contractors.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
With India joining the project, it would be called TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline.
State governments are gradually taking initiative as far as developing highways is concerned.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India and Pakistan came closer to resolving the Kashmir issue during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He added that he does not expect a return to that situation in his lifetime. Abdullah lauded Singh's efforts on Kashmir, including the setting up of working groups on the issue, and said he practically initiated measures for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. The chief minister also praised Singh's contribution to India's economic development.
The statement by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) comes in the backdrop of collapse of under-construction Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi on November 12.
The year also saw the government allowing company bidding for a road project to hold up to 25 per cent stake in a firm bidding for another project from 5 per cent earlier.
The 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, held in December 2018, deferred a decision to reduce the GST rate for cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. This was despite recognising that cement - along with automobile parts - remained among the few mass-consumption items still taxed at the highest slab, which was originally meant for luxury and sin goods.
The Union finance ministry has endorsed the views of Gajendra Haldea, infrastructure advisor to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who had objected to recent changes in bidding norms by the National Highways Authority of India.
Government officials believe that central bridge projects perform better than state projects due to stricter checks and balances.
'Some districts have said that areas which are away from the urban centres and where there have been minimal to zero Covid-19 cases may be exempted from the lockdown and construction activity should be allowed,' said a person in the know.
The NHAI board is considering a proposal to give 40 per cent of the annuity payment to the contractors upfront and the remaining amount later in instalments.
