)
India’s north eastern region, where the road ministry has made ambitious plans to improve road infrastructure including an accelerated road development programme, is witnessing a lack-lustre demand from private road developers to take up road projects, largely due to security concerns and threats from local terrorist groups.
Road developers have been staying away from road projects in the region as officials have been kidnapped and ransoms demanded for, in addition to machinery and equipment being burnt down by local terrorist groups, forcing the private sector to stay away from road projects.
“It is not just the road sector, public sector companies including Indian Oil Corporation and ONGC have to provide protection money and they account for it later as some sort of development fee. In the road sector, there are always instances where crushers and other machinery are often burnt down. People are very scared to undertake projects there,” a senior official at a private sector infrastructure company said on conditions of anonymity.
Country’s highway authority, NHAI has also agreed that the trouble in the region has held back a number of projects and addition of roads are negligible as compared to the plans set by the ministry.
“There is no hope for these projects as they are impossible to take off. As soon as a project is awarded the developers get demand notices from some of the local thug groups asking for money. They also kidnap officials and the private sector does not want to take that risk,” a senior NHAI official said.
The official also added that the accelerated program initiated by the roads ministry has not succeeded so far.
“In our view, this program has not been successful. The private sector is not interested in road projects here and they have to arrange for protection money. They are not interested in taking the risks and we do not think the problem can be resolved soon”, added the official.
The government has been looking to develop road projects in the north east as it prepares to connect the country with Myanmar and also to connect it to the Southeast Asian regions including Thailand as part of its look east policy. A massive plan to connect India with Thailand through the road route by 2016 had been proposed by the central government earlier and completion target set for 2016.
In addition, government had also set up the Special Accelerated Road Development Program (SAADP-NE) to improve road connectivity in the region in 2006. The first phase of the accelerated program is expected to develop more than 6,500 kilometres by 2016 of which only 1,000 kilometres have been completed so far. And officials say that the completion of the remaining 5,500 kilometre by 2016 will remain a distant dream.
“There are other concerns such as the issue of labour and land acquisition which has also affected road development in the region. But even if they were addressed, the issue of security is a very big concern,” an official at a private infrastructure company said on condition of anonymity.
The roads ministry meanwhile has said that the development of road projects in the north east is not a concern at the moment and road projects are going on as scheduled.
“There are no concerns. I have been personally visiting the north east ever since I took over as the minister and road projects are taking off well,” Union Minister for road transport, Oscar Fernandes had earlier told Business Standard.
India's road sector has been suffering since the past few years largely due to inactive participation from the private sector developers due to funding constraints. In addition, land acquisition has also become a major concern in Asia's third largest economy.
