A high-level team of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) led by its Managing Director is on a two-day visit to Assam to review progress of its projects in the state.
The team would meet senior Assam government officials, including the Chief Secretary and a few Additional Secretaries, and discuss ways to expedite the land acquisition and forest clearance issues for the infrastructure projects.
"We are here for two days to review the projects and its progress. We will meet senior officials and also the Deputy Commissioners of all districts, where our projects are going on," NHIDCL Managing Director Anand Kumar told PTI on the sidelines of a programme here.
Projects in Assam face challenges like heavy rains, geological problems, security concerns and unavailability of resources, among others, he said.
"Delays in land acquisition, forest clearance and shifting of utilities like electricity poles are the biggest challenges in Assam while developing infrastructure. We will raise these issues in our meeting with the Chief Secretary today," Kumar said.
The NHIDCL team would meet the DCs of Nagaon, Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur districts and request them to expedite the entire process for timely completion of projects, he said.
"The Assam government is trying to make the work fast-paced. We are supporting them with every possible way. The Centre and state have to work together to develop the infrastructure," Kumar said.
The company will also meet its contractors and address their woes while carrying out the construction works.
"We will tell our contractors that we must focus of new technologies. We are also addressing the issue of delay in payments and have already given instructions to clear the bills as soon as possible," Kumar said.
He also favoured a unified and coordinated approach among authorities of different departments like the railways, water, road, aviation, telecom and power for speedy and cost-efficient development of infrastructure in Assam.
The NHIDCL today said it would invest around Rs 25,000 crore to complete 21 road and bridge projects in Assam over the next five years.
The company has already awarded contracts for ten projects and four more would be handed over to contractors by December this year.
