A court in Sindhudurg has sentenced Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane to one month's imprisonment in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, noting that lawmakers are not supposed to take the law into their hands.
A court in Sindhudurg convicted Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, sentencing him to one-month imprisonment. The court suspended the sentence, allowing Rane time to appeal.
Hazoor Multi Projects Ltd (HMPL) has been awarded a 27.15 crore contract by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for fee collection and maintenance on a section of National Highway 48 in Karnataka.
Singh said that about 150 people including women and forest, revenue and other officials were present at the time of the incident, and if the officials were assaulted, "why are there no eyewitnesses".
The NHAI project director and a retired army brigadier, who was running a consultancy service for NHAI, had been named by murdered NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey in a letter alleging large-scale bungling in highway construction projects.
The Supreme Court has questioned the NHAI regarding toll collection on a highway stretch in Kerala where commuters face extreme delays. The court is reviewing a High Court order suspending toll collection due to poor road conditions and severe traffic congestion.
The Public Works Department (PWD) of Madhya Pradesh has formed a committee to suggest a solution after a newly constructed railway overbridge with a 90-degree turn became the subject of criticism and much ridicule.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday said action will be taken against those responsible for technical flaws in the construction of the railway overbridge with a 90-degree turn in Bhopal.
Road awards were muted in Q1FY25. But the pace will accelerate with a bidding pipeline of Rs 1.1 trillion (September 2024), mostly dominated by HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) projects, which contribute 47 per cent and engineering procurement and construction or EPC projects, which have about 36 per cent share. Hence, infrastructure companies mostly reported revenue decline on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis in Q1FY25.
Three men were on Monday convicted of murdering young NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey who paid with his life after he blew the whistle on corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral project in Bihar.
Switching off the engine affects the vehicle's braking ability and this possibly resulted in the truck hitting other vehicles on the bridge slope on Sunday, as per a probe conducted into the accident by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), he said.
Sheonath Kumar Sah and Mukendra Paswan, who were quizzed by the CBi for several hours in Delhi during the past few days, fell unconscious after consuming pesticide at their native village in Bihar.
In 2013, the government awarded less than 1,500 km of road projects under the EPC mode after it found no takers for PPP projects.
While activity in the highway segment has been slow, the bid pipeline saw recovery in January 2024, and awards are expected to improve in Q4FY24. The national highway (NH) bid pipeline has recovered from a low of Rs 15,900 crore in December 2023 to Rs 68,400 crore at present. The NHAI's pipeline stands at Rs 66,100 crore, with hybrid annuity model (HAM), build operate transfer (BOT) and engineering procurement and construction (EPC) projects accounting for 60 per cent, 29 per cent and 13 per cent share, respectively.
Rat-hole mining may be illegal but the talent and experience of rat-hole miners were used in the rescue operation to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, a National Disaster Management Authority member said on Tuesday.
In the video clip that has gone viral on the social media, Rane and Kankavli Municipal Council president Samir Nalawade are purportedly seen tying Deputy Engineer Prakash Khedekar of the National Highways Authority of India to the railing of a bridge and pouring buckets of mud on him.
State-owned NHAI has created a Guinness World Record for the longest continuously laid bituminous lane of 75 kilometres in 105 hours and 33 minutes on the national highway between Amravati and Akola districts in Maharashtra. Mentioning about the record, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the project was implemented by 720 workers including a team of independent consultants who worked day and night. The total length of the 75 kilometres of single lane continuous bituminous concrete road is equivalent to 37.5 kilometres of two-lane paved shoulder road and the work started on June 3, at 7:27 am and was completed on June 7, at 5 pm, the minister said in a video message.
Machinery and manpower have been deployed, but stones falling from the hills are obstructing the road opening work, the officials said.
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.
World Bank customarily withdraws fund for a project that has not been built in seven years.
As even bigger road construction players are not willing to bet on BOT projects., NHAI will have to rethink its thrust on the BOT model.
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.
NHAI has already initiated process to handle such emergency situation and also taking all possible measures to avoid such incidents in future, an official statement said on Sunday.
Will be given choice of govt and privately funded modes to put highway projects that didn't get bids under PPP model.
RInfra, which is sitting on a debt of over Rs 6,000 crore, has been working towards monetising its assets to reduce debt.
The assault on the engineer came days after a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator assaulted an official with a cricket bat in Madhya Pradesh.
The Centre has accorded top priority for cost-effective, pollution-free transportation modes, such as waterways, which reduce logistic costs and increase road safety. Union minister of roads, highways, ports and shipping Nitin Gadkari speaks to Sanjay Jog about the government's strategy.
While seven companies bagged orders worth Rs 42,000 crore, industry experts said most of this new order activity was a spillover, and fresh project finalisation remains weak.
Over 93% of the orders in the year came from the central and state governments, PSUs, and NHAI.
Road developers hoping for early relief from the government will have to wait longer.
'Like all right-thinking Indians, I am shocked and saddened by the murder of Satyendra Dubey, an upright and dedicated officer working with NHAI,' he said.
This uncaring attitude is primarily based on the fact that road concessionaires still do not see themselves as "service deliverers", says Vinayak Chatterjee.
After the Maharashtra government has scrapped the Mumbai redevelopment plan, there could be major change in state policy.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari known for promoting innovative ideas in transportation, created a stir some time back when he pitched for 100 per cent electric mobility by 2030. In an interview with Megha Manchanda & Jyoti Mukul, he talks about the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and electric vehicles.
In the meeting, which was held in makeshift tents at the Zero point, both the sides discussed timing of completion of bridge, alignment of roads and other engineering aspects of the proposed crossing points.
Little attention is being paid to keep roads, bridges and flyovers in good shape
'Our target is to award Rs 25 lakh crore worth of projects that would result in creating 25 million jobs'
When Nitin Gadkari took charge as Road Transport and Highways Minister in 2014, he had set a target of constructing 40 km a day in two years. But construction at this point is a mere 16 km a day. Megha Manchanda on what ails the road sector.
