One of the country’s most ambitious digital auto testing track near Indore is facing rough weathers due to a fund tangle between the state government and the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP), the largest automotive initiative by Government of India.
If things do not take a positive shape, the completion of the track will be delayed by two years. The current deadline is 2013. The project was launched to create latest technology-based testing, validation and research and development infrastructure in the country and help attract automotive companies around the world by 2009.
The proposed oval-shaped auto testing track in Indore, now named as NATRAX will test automotives at a speed of 250 miles per hour in a digital environment. However, a road and a water pipeline project for industries is coming in the way of the auto proving ground and need to be diverted. Sources claim that the state government is delaying the availability of funds to rehabilitate a village. “State government wants NATRIP to fund the escalated cost of housing. NATRIP had already paid an amount of Rs 7 crore for water pipeline diversion but nothing has been done so far,” a source claimed. A state government official, on the other hand said, “NATRIP is capable of arranging additional.” The department of industry officials were, however, not available for comment.
So far, NATRIP has completed the ground work for buildings and testing lab and erected the boundary wall. The process of land acquisition for the testing track started in 2007. The process faced opposition from local residents and the issue was raised in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative. A total of 4,000 acres of land is required for the testing track, of which 1,100 acres is government-owned and 2,700 acres is privately owned. The state however had cleared an amount of Rs 100 crore for land acquisition for NATRIP in 2006.
The Indore track will have high-speed circuit, crash-testing track, pass-by noise track, straight line braking surfaces, gradient tracks, two-wheeler high-speed circuit, accelerated fatigue tracks, corrosion and durability racks, ride and handling circuit, hill route track, airbag abuse track, platform for testing and certifying of vehicles ranging from two-wheelers and cars to even heavy trucks and multi-axle vehicles.