Govt likely to shelve proposed Express Highway Authority

Bogged down by land acquisition problems and delays in existing road projects, the government is likely to shelve the proposal to set up an authority for implementation of expressways in the country along the lines of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier envisaged setting up a separate body for the construction of expressways in the country, dubbed the Expressways Authority of India, to facilitate fast flow of goods. It was proposed to be set up on the lines of the NHAI.

The government is facing problems in acquiring fresh land for the expressways, as these projects would be constructed separately and not on existing highways. What is more, there are delays in the construction of existing road projects and a human resources crunch at the NHAI is also hindering progress.

"The problems in setting up Expressways Authority of India are delays in completion of the existing projects, there are hurdles in fresh land acquisition and there is not enough manpower to execute these projects," a Road Transport and Highways Ministry official told PTI.

"It is difficult to fill the existing positions in NHAI," he said, adding there is no need for a separate body for the execution of expressways as the NHAI can form a new wing to take control of such projects.

Former Minister of Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath had proposed to constitute an authority for expressways on the pattern of NHAI in order to give an impetus to infrastructure development in the country.

He was of the view that the expressways should be dealt with separately.

The ministry aims to build 7,000 km of roads annually and has assigned the task of constructing 20 km of road per day to the NHAI. It has also envisaged constructing a 15,600 km national expressways network in three phases by 2022, the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2017-22).

Countries like the US, Canada and other European nations have evinced interest in investing about $3 billion on highway projects over the next five years in India.