Sameer:

Source of this information: email from a friend with sources inside
the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

I am pretty sure that most of the city pairs are accurate.  The
lengths of highways may be approximations, though they are exact
distances too in some of the sections I personally know.

I agree that Dhule-Nagpur is not 100kms, it is I think 450kms.  Some
possible explanations for the error:


1. The section is correct but there is a mistake/typo in the
distance column.  If you notice the same list, Saraipalli-Nagpur is
indicated as 450kms, whcih is the distance from Dhule to Nagpur.  It
might be that Saraipalli-Nagpur is actually 100kms and Dhule-Nagpur
is 100kms.  I don't know where Saraipalli is but it is plausible
that the two distances got interchanged.

2. It might actually refer to Dhule-Nashik, which is about 143kms.
(the four-lane highway may not cover the entire distance).  In this
case, the number of the NH is also incorrect since the list says
this section is on NH6 but Nasik-Dhule is NH3

3. The 4-laning is proposed only for a part of the Dhule-Nagpur
highway (which is on NH6 as indicated).  However, why call it Dhule-
Nagpur instead of Dhule-XYZ (or ABC - DEF if it is between two
intermediate points)


I shall therefore try and get this clarified by my source.  Let me
know if you find soemthing else in the list that seems obviously
wrong.

Regards,
Sridhar

--- In indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, "Sameer Madan"
<sameermadan@y...> wrote:
> This is very useful Sridhar. I'll try to map as much as I can on
the
> National Highwys Map of India. However, I'm not sure about all the
> sections on here. Some of the cities are ones I've Never heard of!
A
> few, like the Nagpur - Dhule section is given as 100 km. It is way
> more than that. What is the source of this information?
>
> Sameer
>

This is very useful Sridhar. I'll try to map as much as I can on the
National Highwys Map of India. However, I'm not sure about all the
sections on here. Some of the cities are ones I've Never heard of! A
few, like the Nagpur - Dhule section is given as 100 km. It is way
more than that. What is the source of this information?

Sameer

--- In indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, "Sridhar Narayanan"
<nsridhar74@y...> wrote:
> Of the 10000kms of highways, about 3000kms are proposed to be
taken
> up sometime this year itself.  The list of these project is
below.
> I am indicating the section, its length and the national highway
> number.  Based on this, some kind person could perhaps incorporate
> it into a map of the NHDP.  But it will be a time-consuming
exercise
> to do it nevertheless.
>
> Here's the list
> 1. Jallandhar – Amritsar – 69kms – NH1
> 2. Indore – Khalghat – 74kms – NH3
> 3. Vadape-Gonde – 100kms – NH3
> 4. Nasik Pimpalgaon – 60kms – NH3
> 5. Gwalior – Dewas – 240kms – NH3
> 6. Dhule – Pimpalgaon – 115kms – NH3
> 7. Saraipalli – Nagpur – 450kms – NH6
> 8. Nagpur – Dhule – 100kms – NH6
> 9. Pune – Sholapur – 240kms – NH9
> 10. Agra – Jaipur – 220kms- NH11
> 11. Sholapur – Hospet  - 100kms – NH13
> 12. Mangalore – Udupi – 50kms – NH17
> 13. Murmagao – Mapusa – 50kms – NH17
> 14. Chandigarh – Kiratpur – 73kms – NH21
> 15. Ambala – Kalka – 58kms – NH22
> 16. Kalka – Shimla – 110kms – NH22
> 17. Hapur – Rampur – 125kms – NH24
> 18. Milak – Lucknow – 290kms – NH24
> 19. Barhi – Ranchi – 100kms – NH33
> 20. Guwahati – Shillong – 60kms – NH40
> 21. Sheertalai – Alleppey – 60kms – NH47
> 22. Meerut – Dehradun – 220kms – NH58/72
> 23. Patna – Muzaffarpur – 39kms – NH77
>
> Regards,
> Sridhar
>
> --- In indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, "kabh_99" <kabh_99@y...>
wrote:
> > Hello guys:
> >
> > You must be aware of these 48 new projects apart from the NHDP
> > corridors announced by the FM.
> >
> > I would request a listing of the same and a map that
superimposes
> on
> > the existing NHDP map for us enthusiasts. Can anyboby help me
out
> > here.
> >
> > Cheers.

Of the 10000kms of highways, about 3000kms are proposed to be taken
up sometime this year itself.  The list of these project is below.
I am indicating the section, its length and the national highway
number.  Based on this, some kind person could perhaps incorporate
it into a map of the NHDP.  But it will be a time-consuming exercise
to do it nevertheless.

Here's the list
1. Jallandhar – Amritsar – 69kms – NH1
2. Indore – Khalghat – 74kms – NH3
3. Vadape-Gonde – 100kms – NH3
4. Nasik Pimpalgaon – 60kms – NH3
5. Gwalior – Dewas – 240kms – NH3
6. Dhule – Pimpalgaon – 115kms – NH3
7. Saraipalli – Nagpur – 450kms – NH6
8. Nagpur – Dhule – 100kms – NH6
9. Pune – Sholapur – 240kms – NH9
10. Agra – Jaipur – 220kms- NH11
11. Sholapur – Hospet  - 100kms – NH13
12. Mangalore – Udupi – 50kms – NH17
13. Murmagao – Mapusa – 50kms – NH17
14. Chandigarh – Kiratpur – 73kms – NH21
15. Ambala – Kalka – 58kms – NH22
16. Kalka – Shimla – 110kms – NH22
17. Hapur – Rampur – 125kms – NH24
18. Milak – Lucknow – 290kms – NH24
19. Barhi – Ranchi – 100kms – NH33
20. Guwahati – Shillong – 60kms – NH40
21. Sheertalai – Alleppey – 60kms – NH47
22. Meerut – Dehradun – 220kms – NH58/72
23. Patna – Muzaffarpur – 39kms – NH77

Regards,
Sridhar

--- In indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, "kabh_99" <kabh_99@y...> wrote:
> Hello guys:
>
> You must be aware of these 48 new projects apart from the NHDP
> corridors announced by the FM.
>
> I would request a listing of the same and a map that superimposes
on
> the existing NHDP map for us enthusiasts. Can anyboby help me out
> here.
>
> Cheers.

Dear IndiaHighways members,

the past 3-4 days have seen furious debating on and several forums
belonging to Indian media groups over the IE Series on the GQ's
progress. Here's my 2 cents contribution and observations on the
serious debate -

1. The original deadline was Dec. 2004
2. Vajpayee "preponed" it to Dec. 2003
3. Even 12 months ago, there were stories done by the press about the
advancing of the date and all engineers interviewed had said -
  "Challenging, but not possible. We can work faster, and get more
done by Dec. 2003 than originally envisaged, but forget about
completing it all by Dec. 2003" However, the PM and the Minster for
Highways keep up the rant of Dec. 2003 so frequently that everyone
started believing them :-)
4. It would be interesting to see if IE crunches some numbers to show
how the WHOLE project is doing, on an average, assuming the original
2004 deadline. If we are a long way off from meeting those numbers,
then I will feel that the Gen. Khanduri's initial objective of
bringing about a sea change in the attitude and approach towards road
construction has not been fully accomplished.
5. Note the use of the words "fully accomplished". This is already a
HUGE accomplishment when you consider how roads were made in india 10
years ago and where it is now. Earlier it meant thousands of
labourers. Now it means CAD, satellite imaging, number crunching and
excavators, and of course the labourers.
6. The MORTH ( Ministry of Road Transport and Highways ) has adopted
a sound framework for work allocation. By giving out contracts to
private contractors on a lump sum basis, cost overruns do not
primarily affect the government and the taxpayer. The govt. no longer
has an incentive to take 15 years to build a road. The contractor has
no incentive to stay at it for a day longer than is needed.
7. A beginning in privately funded, self sustaining roads has been
made. Prime example - Delhi Gurgaon stretch is a "hotspot" for BPO
and call centers. But the commute is a nightmare. Solution - DS and
Jaypee are paying the govt. 66 crores for the rights to build and
operate the road for the next few years and toll. The commuter gets a
quick passage home for a small fee. The tax payer does not pay for
the roads. The Rs. 600 crore thus "saved" by the government, could,
in theory, get used for other social sector projects - health
infrastructure, education, sanitation, which are badly needed. The
govt. itself needs to get out of the construction, retailing,
manufacturing businesses and leave it to India Inc.
8. In conclusion, guys, cut some slack to the IE reporters - every
reporter also needs to make stories a mix of good and bad news.
A "weak" story rarely gets published :-) Just kidding, everybody.

Sameer

After all the flak in the first two parts, the Indian Express series takes
on the sector of the GQ that is recording the best progress. Reading this
throws up one interesting aspect - that the same NHAI which is making this
smooth progress, unprecedented for Indian infrastructure projects ( just
the Delhi - Bombay section is > 1400 Kms ), is being pulled and dragged
by squabbling and unco-operative state governments and agencies elsewhere.
A shame.

But thumbs up to NHAI.

Sameer

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23560

Where people roll out the red carpet


Fields dry, jobs scarce, Rajasthan hopes luck will come riding.


Sonu Jain

Padh likh kar babuji chale naukri paane, haar kar sakhi driveri milli truck
chalane ko ? On the back of a truck with a Rajasthan number-plate.

The Golden Quadrilateral may have set off alarm bells elsewhere but in
Rajasthan,
a state ravaged by drought for the past five years, it sounds hope of jobs
and a path to better life.



If two MPs went out of their way to get the GQ to pass through their
constituencies
here, people with homes falling in the path have voluntarily pulled them
down with just a promissory letter from the National Highway Authority of
India (NHAI). There have been no disagreements, forget lawsuits over
compensation.


Former Union minister of state for rural affairs Subhash Maharia explains
why people want the roads so badly. ??That is because Rajasthanis have never
seen roads. The roads being made under the Golden Quadrilateral are more
than what have been built in the state in the past 40 years.??

Actually, it gets better. The money being spent for the GQ stretch in Rajasthan
is close to Rs 2,600 crore, more than what has been spent in the state for
roads since Independence.




With the state being bankrupt, the only money being used for developmental
works is that sanctioned by Central schemes like the Central Road Fund,
the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana, the Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund and NABARD.

No wonder then that when the project started, directions went out from the
Rajasthan chief secretary?s office to give complete cooperation to NHAI.
The result was that electricity and telephone poles standing in the way
of the road were shifted in record time, leaving a clear stretch for the
contractors to begin work. Now NHAI looks set to complete almost entire
four-laning by December 2003.

??We have not had to use a single bulldozer or crane or take the help of
police to remove structures,?? says Harish Mathur, Project Director for
Jaipur-Bhilwada.

As per the initial plan, from Ajmer, the GQ was to follow the NH8 through
Beawar, Bhim and then on to Udaipur. In the new plan, it will go through
two new districts on NH 76 ? Bhilwara and Chittor ? before it reaches Udaipur,
adding 20 km to its length. Behind this change are Bhilwara MP V.P. Singh
and Srichand Kriplani of Chittor, both belonging to the BJP.

From the time they first heard about the dream road in 1998, they started
sending representations through local DMs and Rajasthani politicians at
the Centre till they got the route changed.

Luckily for them, PWD reports also recommended the altered route. Singh
claims the Bhim and Devigarh region, through which the GQ was first supposed
to run, is ??so pristine that it is best left untouched??. He also argues
that the old golden highway would have left out Chittor with all its cement
industry.

There are five cement plants, including those belonging to giants like JK
Cement and Birla Cement responsible for 50-per cent truck traffic in these
parts, apart from the textile, marble, soapstone and asbestos industry here.


NHAI came into the picture only after the new routes were finalised. Ask
him about the change and NHAI?s Mathur says: ??The routes would have only
been chosen if they were found to be technically and more economically
feasible.??


Incidentally, Ajmer MP Rasa Singh has no problem either with the new route,
though it means his constituency gets barely a glimpse of the GQ. He believes
the decision must have been taken ??because the other area is less hilly
and would require lesser effort to construct??.

Maharia says nobody is complaining. Beawar already has a national highway
and the new route means a new connectivity. ??Now both the areas can come
up,?? he says.

People, of course, did not need any convincing. Turn towards Nasirabad,
a town of around 50,000 people, a few kilometres off the GQ. It is on the
national map as bodies for trailers used all over the country are made here.


Adjoining small town Srinagar is known for trailer repair. Almost every
family in Nasirabad owns a trailer, either on its own or jointly with other
families.

At Pravin Truck Body Repair, one runs into Sajjan Sharma, a BSc graduate,
having a modest lunch of dry rotis and buttermilk. He talks of how his family
would earlier spend at least six months a year cultivating something.

When the drought strikes, he says, pointing to the dry fields behind his
workshop: ??We have no option, the only jobs available are to do with trucks,
either working as a helper or a repairman, or if lucky, as a driver.??


There are no doubts in Sharma?s mind about the GQ, not even the familiar
one about whether he would get relief for making way for it. He knows the
quality of roads will mean less breakdowns and perhaps lesser work for him.
But Sharma is expecting the increased number of trucks on the road to nake
up for it and last month, moved his shop back to make way for the GQ.

In Mahapura, a small village on the Jaipur-Kishangarh road, Anil Jaiswal
has himself demolished half his shop. ??Once NHAI made an assessment and
gave me a consent note, I did this myself. The big highway will mean better
business later,?? he says. And even if it does not, he adds, he will have
no regrets. ??Isn?t it for national interest???

Second part of the Indian Express Series on the Golden Quadrilateral.

Sameer

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23444

Running into Great Wall of China in UP


2003 deadline ties NHAI hands as foreign firms throw GQ out of gear on
Delhi-Kolkata
route



  Even the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can?t spot signs on
this stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral?s Delhi-Kolkata arm and see a clear
road to December 2003.

All it must hear are alarm bells as two foreign companies ? a Chinese and
a Russian, both parading themselves as one of the best in the business of
roads in their respective countries ? throw the Prime Minister?s dream highway
out of gear.




Between them, China Coal Construction Group Corporation (CCCGC) and
Centrodorstroy
have managed to finish just over 5 km of the 200-odd km they were contracted
to build. Given the job in March 2002 and 2001, respectively, they have
not progressed beyond 4 per cent anywhere.

Even excuses have been exhausted as they periodically submit revised
construction
schedules to NHAI.

The latter has little choice but to frown and bear it as the complications
of terminating the contract, the hurdles before a fresh award and Minister
of State for Road, Transport and Highways B.C. Khanduri?s pledge to give
the GQ by December 2003 outweigh every other business consideration.

CCCGC or the ??Great Wall of China?? as it is referred to by local officials
is responsible for the stretch between Shikohabad and Etawah, not too far
from the Capital. After the congested streets of Ferozabad where NHAI is
still battling hard to acquire land for the GQ, this section of about 60
km has been largely cleared of all encroachments and structures.

But the keyword is ??progress??. And a journey through this section shows
a definite lack of it. Barring mounds of earth dug up since the contract
was awarded in March 2002, it is a barren landscape punctuated by the odd
bulldozer, a truck and a handful of labourers strolling about aimlessly.




??Working with them is like dealing with the East India Company,?? says
one of the sub-contractors. ??They can?t even speak English, let alone Hindi,
and function through interpreters. They hardly communicate and don?t treat
us well. To add to that, their cheques also bounce. I have been running
after them for a Rs 17,000 cheque that has just bounced.?? CCCGC did have
Indian engineers, but they quit in February after their salaries were not
paid on time.

The departure was not pleasant and some among the Chinese staff were roughed
up. The door across the ??Great Wall?? has been shut since, with interpreters,
drivers and the odd sub-contractor awaiting his payment being the only Indians
with access.

But CCCGC Project Engineer Quan Jizheng passes the buck to ??Indian
conditions??.
??I agree the work is way behind schedule. But what can we do, the conditions
are very different here. We were told imported equipment will arrive in
30 days, it came in 90 days. Removing houses and shops from the construction
site takes so long; in China, these encumbrances are removed overnight.
To build a bridge across a canal here, there are so many clearances needed!
Nevertheless, we think we are better placed now and should be able to complete
the work as per our contract.?? However, early completion, Jizheng told
The Indian Express, was a request ??difficult to promise??.

That?s an understatement. Even by its revised benchmarks, the company should
have completed close to 3 per cent of the task by February 1. It had finished
just 1.69 per cent.

Jizheng also admits that the delay has upset the financial cycle. Since
the returns to a company escalate with every stage of completion, CCCGC
by not even finishing its initial task has landed in a financial mess. Jizheng
admits: ??When we had the money, we didn?t know how to sped it and when
we needed money, we found thee was no money.?? This is coupled with the
pervasive feeling in the camp that the company bid ??far too less?? ? Rs
157.5 crore ? for the work.

If the Chinese contractor is paying the price of remaining aloof and displaying
little trust in its Indian staff, the case of Centrodorstroy is the other
extreme. The Russian contractor, which got the job a year before CCCGC,
in March 2001, went to the extent of naming an Indian outfit, Mukand Steel,
as its identified material, equipment and manpower supplier.

A company with little or no experience in constructing roads, Mukand Steel,
official sources say, would never have qualified to even bid for a contract
in the GQ.

The arrangement with Centrodorstroy has, however, allowed this pre-dominantly
steel-related firm to gain a foothold in road construction. Mukand?s gain
has been NHAI?s loss. Centrodorstroy?s performance in its two stretches
? 77 km between Fatehpur and Khaga, and 72 km from Handia to Varanasi ?
has been nothing to write home about. Against a physical progress target
of 30.19 per cent in the first section by February 1, the contractor had
achieved a mere 2.86 per cent. The other section did marginally better,
3.84 per cent, against a target of 16.34 per cent.

The monthly progress report for March 2003 for the first stretch clearly
states that the firm is in no position to complete the work by its due date,
March 2004, let alone the advanced deadline of December 2003. ??The contractor
shows poor management and planning, lack of coherent organisation, protracted
delay in the mobilisation of equipment and inadequate supply of materials.??



This strictly confidential report (available with The Indian Express) is
equally harsh on Mukand Steel. ??The main contractor, and its manpower,
plant and equipment supplier, Messers Mukand, are still grossly undermobilised.
Equipment available on site is totally inadequate for the required productivity.
Availability of personnel is also inadequate with frequent changing of key
personnel adversely affecting progress.??

With the writing on the wall, Centrodorstroy Deputy General Director L.G.
Efremov is at pains to emphasise they are serious about the work they have
undertaken. Caught in a financial tangle like CCCGC, he wants NHAI to go
slow on appropriating the money advance released at the start of work.

??We have flown in equipment from Russia which took time. But now we are
fairly comfortable and as we have mentioned in our revised proposal to NHAI,
we plan to work overtime and complete a good portion of the new two lanes
by December.?? This, incidentally, is the third reply he has had to file
explaining the company?s non-performance in the past three months. Efremov
also puts up a stout defence of Mukand Steel, saying: ??In order to supply
material, no experience is required in road construction.??

Efremov?s cousins a couple of hundred kilometres ahead have given up this
obstinacy. This stretch from Handia to Varanasi was also far behind the
rest till last April.

Then Mukand was forced to revamp its entire team on the site. The company
hired a new set of highway specialists fresh after constructing the Indore-Dewas
road in Madhya Pradesh. The physical progress has improved considerably,
though it is still well below par.

Sensing that the late resurgence may still not help finish the task on time,
Centrodorstroy Project Engineer A.V. Tambalev now wants NHAI to change the
scope of the contract, which demands that the entire 72 km of new two-lanes
be concrete.

??We want them to reduce this to 32 km of concrete, as soil in the remaining
portion is too loose and not suitable for a concrete top. But I hope to
finish 32 km of new two-lanes by December,?? says Tambalev.

Caught in a bind, NHAI officials say they have no choice but to endure if
the work in these stretches has to be completed on time. ??Ideally, a couple
of these three contracts should be terminated,?? says an NHA official. ??But
we fear that will delay matters further. All we can do is persuade and assist
them wherever possible.??

Dear all and Sucheta,

I am confident that I am talking for all members of our discussion group
when I congratulate you and IE for the investigative and ground reality
account that you have presented in your article. When one reads these
accounts , initially it hits badly . But unless we know the problems ,
we cannot devise ways to handle them. The articles related to NHDP state
facts , Good and Bad.

For those who have not read this one, have a look
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23444

Attached below is the article in IE which Ashish has talked about. There
is serious shortfall from the targeted achievement. The reasons are to a
great extent unique to our country , and some embarassing when viewed
from conditions worldwide. The issues are deep rooted . But I find that
there are visionaries among the otherwise rotten political and
bureaucratic system who are making things work. As we have seen in case
of Delhi Metro and other projects in pipeline in other cities across
India.

Even the last paragraph of the IE article below gives positive comments
about the project. Private sector participation will not yield results
in any project unless Govt at least has an intention of making things
work. AND now there is a political will to make things work because
politicians know that people are simply fed up and they have to make
things work. Yes, there is serious lapse in the to-date the target vs
achievement IF we see from the viewpoint of the rosy picture painted
initially , BUT if we compare with how things have been done in past ,
the achievement till date is a wonder.

Govt can provide the necessary funding , facilities for a project. At
the grassroot level , the onus is on the common man who has to be
willing to make things work. There is a stark difference in attitudes of
people along the route of highway. In some places , people have allowed
their properties to be demolished and at others contractors are being
demanded money from mafia. Certain pockets in India are notorious for
not making things work.

Just like Vajpayee Govt is trying to cash in on highway project for
elections, maybe some political parties are trying to create hurdles to
do otherwise. In an article I read on IndiaHighways group, a South
African veteran working on a highway project called the conditions in
India a "walk in the park" compared to what he had seen in Bangladesh.
Comparison with bad examples is no excuse for poor performance , but
things are definitely moving in the right direction.

The disappointment that we have on reading news about poor performance
on such projects is the biggest testimony of our commitment and of being
hopeful of conditions turning around for best. All said and done, our
brainstorming and feedback from IE should be taken on a positive note by
all of us and most importantly by NHAI/Mr. Khanduri so that things
happen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
Low ways and highways
If the PM's pet project can get stalled like this, what happens to the
others?
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23394

There is a dynamic between roads and people that's hard to beat. If
people make roads, roads make people. This is precisely why so much
popular hope has been vested on the integrated cross-country road
project known as the Golden Quadrilateral - four-lane highways linking
the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was quick to recognise the potential of such infrastructure and
it was one of the first major projects he espoused as prime minister.
Every year the project unfailingly figured in Red Fort speeches and in
presidential addresses as a talisman of government intent. Politicians
hailed it, corporates swore by it, people dreamed of it. Yet, as this
paper in a special series, 'Halting Highways', reports, the Golden
Quadrilateral-despite its VVIP status-is fast losing its sheen, with
just a quarter of its projected 5,846-km stretch anywhere near
completion.

If the government is unable to deliver on something that is so high
profile, how can it be depended upon to ensure that projects much lower
down the food chain actually fructify? Is the one story, slated as a
happy one, about to have an uncertain ending? Are we going to witness a
promising development initiative slide into the familiar abyss of
bureaucratic red tape and apathy? While the Express investigation
promises to strip the project bare to take stock of every hurdle that
could stall it, there are some obvious roadblocks that need to be
flagged rightaway. Take, for instance, the lack of sync between the
Central and state authorities on the project. The enthusiasm for it
seems to wane the further one goes from Delhi, so much so that in the
great hinterland the mighty highway project is held hostage to problems
ranging from serious snarls like land acquisition to insignificant
hiccups like the relocation of electricity poles. Therefore, while the
one shining example of efficiency emanating from the project is the
impressive progress made on the 1,936-km Delhi-Mumbai stretch, there are
areas where it appears to be heading for nowhere land.

But things are not all bleak. It is not as if the project is about to
give up its ghost. Private sector participation brought in through
build-own-transfer schemes has meant that a project which, in the good
old days, would have taken decades to acquire any shape is now very much
a national presence. The fact that people perceive a stake in the
project has helped a great deal. Many have voluntarily made their
adjustments by allowing shops and homes to be razed because they feel
they and their families would eventually benefit from it. Even the very
fact that questions are being raised about the project's timeline
indicates a new sense of professionalism. India, it seems, is no longer
prepared to stand by and watch patiently for its future to be built,
shovel by shovel. There is now a palpable anxiety to hit the high road,
and now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
VIVEK GARG



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23388

AN EXPRESS SERIES ON THE GOLDEN QUADRILATERAL

The Great Indian Road Show Crawls

After an extensive investigation, covering about 6,000 kilometres,
Pranab Dhal Samanta, Sonu Jain, Subrata Nagchoudhury and Reshma
Patil bring you the real picture of the dream highway.

  Sher Shah Suri built the Grand Trunk Road and gave India, according
to Rudyard Kipling, a river of life. The BJP Govt is not talking in
those terms, yet. What it promised was state-of-the-art, four-lane
highways linking Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by Dec 2003.

But four years later, the wagon is sputtering, with just one-fourth
of the 5,846-km stretch ready and targets scaled down. The Indian
Express travelled along the Golden Quadrilateral and found usual
suspects, unexpected potholes and surprise freeways. If Satara's
fancy for flyovers has grounded work, Rajasthan villages have
cleared way without waiting for relief in the name of national
interest. Beginning today, we take you on a journey of this highway.

It is rollback time for Minister of State for Road, Transport and
Highways B.C. Khanduri. After claiming from every nook and cranny of
the country he visited in the past year that the Prime Minister's
dream four-lane highway project, The Golden Quadrilateral,
connecting the four metros, will be ready by December 2003, the
minister is now eating his words.

Four years after PM Atal Behari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone
for the project at Devanahalli in Karnataka, the National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) has just completed 1,327 of the 5,846 km-
long Golden Quadrilateral (GQ). With the monsoon season ahead, NHAI
effectively has just four to five months to fulfill what is now a
far-fetched dream.

In fact, despite all the incentives for quick work and threats of
penalty to contractors for delays, NHAI officials seem to have seen
this coming long back. Ask any official about the project and pat
comes the reply: ``The minister (Khanduri) said `substantial
completion', which means that at least two of the new four lanes
will be ready by December 2003.''

With just seven months left for the deadline, the
word ``substantial'' is everyone's best defence. But as The Indian
Express found out, it means different things at different places. On
the Delhi-Kolkata route, 60 per cent of two new lanes by December
constitutes ``substantial'' completion while officials on the
Kolkata-Chennai section quote a figure of about 80-90 per cent.

NHAI engineers between Mumbai and Chennai stick to the redefined
version of completing two lanes by December. The Delhi-Mumbai
stretch is, however, on course for timely completion. So, after
working out the averages, this is what Khanduri has to say: ``I
advanced the deadline by a year to December 2003 to change the
mentality of delays and cost overruns which is like a virus among
the engineers of our country. Now I hope that 80 per cent of the new
two-lanes will be completed by December. The entire Golden
Quadrilateral is not possible.''

But there is a catch in Khanduri's revised, two-lane pledge:
Contractors point out that it clashes with the milestone chart set
in their contracts, which envisages four lanes, and could result in
penalties for them. Take the case of the 61 km road between
Sikandara and Bhaunti (short of Kanpur) in UP.

According to the contract, 40 km of all four lanes were to be
completed by Dec 25. However, the minister is now asking for just
two new lanes over the entire 61 km. The reason for Khanduri's
rollback is clear. With elections near, he wants to go to the public
with something concrete by the stated deadline than scattered pieces
of the promised quadrilateral. But some contractors are worried they
may become pawns in this political game.

``The minister can change tomorrow, what will be our fate then? The
penalties will be applied as per the milestones mentioned in the
contract. May be a revision of targets to the ministry's requirement
is officially possible in sections funded by NHAI but in projects
financed by international monetary institutions like the World Bank,
the contract cannot be easily changed,'' says a contractor on
condition of anonymity.

Khanduri conceded to The Indian Express that contractors have raised
this objection. ``They do bring up this point. In which case, they
can abide by the terms of the contract. But by advancing the
deadline, at least I have ensured that the GQ will be constructed
fully by the projected date of completion in the contract, which is
December 2004.''

Figures, however, tell a different story. The February flash report
of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation states
that 50 (of the 90) sections of the Golden Quadrilateral have
registered delays. Of these, 10 sections have been delayed by up to
two years, with the graph maintaining a similar trend for the past
few months.


In addition, seven of the 15 World Bank-funded projects between
Delhi and Kolkata were awarded a year late in 2002. Since most
international lending agencies have stringent norms about
rehabilitation of the project affected, including encroachers,
construction on sections funded by these institutions has been
grossly delayed. An internal note of NHAI rates the progress in West
Bengal as less than 50 per cent.

On the December 2003 deadline for the Kolkata-Chennai stretch, Col
B.K. Moitra, one of the consultants, says: ``It is a difficult task.
But we will not say it is impossible.'' Col Moitra and his team
members are praying for a moderate monsoon to help speed up
construction.

On the road from Mumbai to Chennai, the Golden Quadrilateral's
progress is so bad at places beyond Dharwad that NHAI officials
plead: ``Please don't publish the figures. They are pathetic.''

At many places, NHAI has failed to fulfill the condition to provide
a clear site to the contractor before the first bulldozer rolls out.
The acquisition of land, demolition of structures, uprooting of
trees, removal of encroachers and relocation of electrical poles are
tasks which involve different state departments, and hence as many
hurdles.


NHAI has not been able to acquire land in most states, particularly
Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. For instance, of
the 916 hectares land needed in Tamil Nadu, only 119 hectares have
been officially acquired, while 490 hectares had been obtained by
public consent till March 31.

Bearing in mind the deadline diktat of December 2003, NHAI had asked
contractors to begin work simultaneously. So, even in many of the
better performing stretches, there are tracts which remain to be
cleared.

While this measure may have got the project off the blocks, it has
also taken the teeth out of the penalty clause. Contractors who are
behind schedule like China Coal Construction Group Corporation in UP
hide behind the excuse that NHAI was not able to hand them a clear
site on time.

In Bihar and Jharkhand where land acquisition is almost complete,
there are issues of law and order. From local gangs to Maoist
insurgents, all are demanding their pound of flesh from contractors.
While NHAI says take police protection, contractors have more faith
in negotiating matters themselves. Many of them have employed five
to six times more labourers and supervisors just to keep various
groups happy.

None of this, however, prevented Maoist groups from attacking a
crushing site near Aurangabad on January 31. The same group had
attacked the neighbouring contractor's camp the previous day and the
company could not muster courage to restart work on the section till
the first week of April.

The one silver lining in this golden dream is the stretch from Delhi
to Mumbai. By December, nearly 80 per cent of all four lanes of the
stretch will be ready. And by June 2004, leaving 142 km, all four
lanes of the 1,419 km would be open for traffic, cutting down
travelling time between the two metros by 30 per cent.

The portion where contractors are running behind schedule on this
stretch is from Surat to Mumbai. Here the deadline given was October
2003, but the entire stretch is only likely to finish by June next
year. Cashflow problems and protests by local quarry owners over
price quotations put back work by at least six months.

Incidentally, this is the busiest corridor in the country, catering
to nearly 13,000 trucks everyday, and protracted traffic jams are an
everyday affair.

But mostly it has been smooth sailing for NHAI here, particularly in
Rajasthan, with almost no litigation as far as compensations go.
People who have lived along the highway for years have pulled down
their homes and shops with just a ``consent possession form'' from
NHAI. Refreshingly, the popular perception is that they should not
come in the way of ``work of national importance''. Now it is up to
the Government to live up to this promise.

(Tomorrow: NHAI in a fix as prestigious foreign contractors fumble
in Indian terrain)

Kabh_99,

I myself am looking out keenly for concrete details on
the same. Here is what I have come across so far in
the media :

1. 25% of these roads were supposed to be based in
concrete ( gives a big boost to cement industry )
2. 3000 km is supposed to take off this year.
3. Govt. has allocated Rs. 2000 cr. for the "grant
portion of these projects", i.e. assuming 40% of
project cost as grant, as in the case of Jaipur
Kishengarh 90km road being built by L&T and others,
Rs. 5000/- cr worth road projects for this year.
4. According to initial reports, the industry is not
too keen on concrete roads because of longer break
even period due to the higher costs of building.

IMHO, with BOT ( privately funded, toll-based )
projects like Jaipur-Kishengarh highway, Tada Nellore
highway still not activated, the private industry is
still averse to taking risks on this front based on
toll-projections. Success with these projects would
make more companies come forward in future. FYI, Tada
Nellore is expected to complete late '03 and the
Jaipur Kishangarh highway is a long way off - it only
started construction this year.

Hope this helps. Anybody like to add to this?
Cheers,
Sameer

--- kabh_99 <kabh_99@...> wrote:
> Hello guys:
>
> You must be aware of these 48 new projects apart
> from the NHDP
> corridors announced by the FM.
>
> I would request a listing of the same and a map that
> superimposes on
> the existing NHDP map for us enthusiasts. Can
> anyboby help me out
> here.
>
> Cheers.
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> indiahighways-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
http://search.yahoo.com

Hello guys:

You must be aware of these 48 new projects apart from the NHDP
corridors announced by the FM.

I would request a listing of the same and a map that superimposes on
the existing NHDP map for us enthusiasts. Can anyboby help me out
here.

Cheers.

Hope the bigwigs at NHAI are seeing this and are serious about controlling
lapses like these. Completely reigning in mis-management may not be realistic
but preventing the NHDP from going the way of other initiatives undertaken
by the government should be top priority.

Sameer

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=33643


CAG Lashes Out At Govt, NHAI On Toll Collection Issues

Our Infrastructure Bureau

New Delhi, May 5:  The government?s toll collection on national highways
(NHs) has come in for severe criticism from the comptroller and auditor
general (CAG). It has criticised the government for failure to cancel a
lease for toll collection on three bridges on national highway number 5
despite default.


CAG has also pulled up National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for revenue
loss due to delay in toll collection on the Gurgaon-Kotputli section. As
per a Cabinet decision, NHAI can collect toll on all four/six lane highways.
NHAI collects tolls mainly by engaging contractors. ?Delay in toll collection
on the Gurgaon-Kotputli section of national highway number 8 had resulted
in a loss of revenue of Rs 8.76 crore,? said CAG in its latest report.

Four-laning work of 126-km sector of NH-8 from Gurgaon to Kotputli (Rajasthan)
was substantially completed during September 2000 and March 2001 in two
phases at a cost of Rs 385.5 crore.

The old nemesis creating a drag again. However, according to Maj. Gen. Khanduri,
5-8 out of the total of 101 contracts would face a delay because of these
issues. Not bad, considering they advanced the completion date for the Golden
Quadrilateral from Dec 2004 to Dec 2003 in the first place, presumably to
draw political mileage from the achievement ( which, no doubt will be
commendable
), in time for the general elections in 2004. I remember reading a comment
several months back by the World Bank that overruns of 3-5% would be very
commendable for an undertaking of this size.

Well done so far, NHAI.

http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=19&story=13774

Temples, trees come in way of highway project


Anil Sasi
Published : May 6, 2003

It?s not extortionists alone. Even trees and temples are acting as major
stumbling blocks for timely completion of the country?s largest infrastructure
programme ? the ongoing Rs 58,000 crore National Highways Development Project
(NHDP).

Work on the Delhi-Kolkata stretch, for example, could spill over well beyond
the December 2003 deadline as the Uttar Pradesh government has raised the
environment bogey and is threatening legal action against the National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) for felling of trees. The NHAI?s promise of
large-scale
replantation has predictably fallen on deaf ears.

B C Khanduri, minister of state for road transport and highways, says it's
inconceivable that a project of this size can be implemented by keeping
all the trees intact. However, nobody seems to be listening to the NHAI?s
commitment on adequate replantation.

The country's strong religious fervour is also putting paid to any hopes
that the NHAI may have had for timely completion of a few sections on the
Mumbai-Chennai corridor (NH-4) passing through Tamil Nadu.

The state is known for its huge number of temples and quite a few of these
have to be shifted if the road project has to go on. But this is proving
to be a highly sensitive and time-consuming issue, delaying the project
inordinately. NHAI officials are terming it a people?s project so that a
consensus evolves among the local people on the need to shift the temples.


?We have aligned roads such that a minimum number of temples and structures
are displaced. Wherever temples are to be removed, we are facilitating building
of structures on new sites,? Khanduri said.

As if these headaches are not enough, the NHAI also has to grapple with
extortionists, especially in states like Bihar. The first phase of the massive
upgradation and multilaning project, the 5,846 km Golden Quadrilateral sections,
was slated for "substantial completion" by December this year.

"I am worried about the completion of certain portions of the project, mainly
on the World Bank funded NH-2 linking Delhi to Kolkata, within schedule.
Of the 101 projects constituting the Golden Quadrilateral portion of the
NHDP, 5-8 projects could spill over beyond the December 2003 deadline, largely
due to these external factors," Khanduri told Business Standard.

According to Khanduri, who has regular debriefing sessions with the contractors,
"all kinds of outfits are demanding money from the contractors". The ministry
has already written to the Bihar government to provide law and order cover
to the contractors. In West Bengal, for instance, NHAI officials get police
protection for tackling land encroachment cases.

Apart from these sections on NH-2, the problem relating to the Allahabad
Bypass, which was delayed because the alignment of the sections could not
be finalised, was also likely to be sorted out soon, he said.

Work on the 1,419-km Delhi-Mumbai sections (NH 8) is proceeding the smoothest.
Excepting "minor incidents" of land acquisition and encroachments in Orissa,
work on the 1,684 km Kolkata-Chennai section (NH-5, 6 & 60) is also proceeding
fine.

Dear Friends,

An Indian labmate of mine , a perpetual India hater ( for reasons best
known to him) is somehow waiting for the day when Metro , NHDP , and
other similar projects will fail and come to a standstill in India.
However, my optimism that comes from the facts which I get from
indianhighways, delhimetro groups bug such people.

Not wasting your time over further discussing such a person, could
someone update me on the current status of Metro - I mean the operating
conditions , cleanliness etc.

There are problems, But hum honge kamyaab ek din

Cheers
VIVEK GARG
Research Scholar
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (E1-06)

National University of Singapore
10,Kent Ridge Crescent
  Singapore- 119260





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Driving on GT Road: good in Delhi & Haryana, intolerable in Punjab

An article from back in Dec 2002 - nice narrative by a Lt. Gen (
ret ) from Gurdaspur. It shows that Haryana, without any natural
tourist resorts, has still committed itself more to providing a
better experience to road travellers. Let's hope it ups the ante for
other states in the near future.

Sameer

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021216/mailbag.htm

Driving in Delhi is no longer a bad experience, the introduction of
CNG has certainly reduced the level of pollution on the roads.
Earlier, halting at the traffic lights in Delhi used to cause
irritation to the eyes and choking due to diesel fumes. This is no
longer there. However, the best thing that has happened is the taming
of the killer buses of Delhi to the left lane of the road, marked as
the bus lane. This single act has made driving in Delhi much easier
and safer. Two-wheelers do still make a nuisance of themselves at the
traffic lights by weaving in and out of lanes. The three-wheelers
also stick to the left of the roads or the centre lane. The traffic
police is generally visible and effective at all difficult and
dangerous crossings or bifurcations of the roads in Delhi.

Cross the Delhi border, and the Haryana roads, though not too good at
places, are still safe and the traffic police is visible at all towns
en route. The traffic police of Haryana has certainly made the Grand
Trunk Road safer for driving by having recovery, first-aid posts, and
having the traffic police road patrols at places en route and
displaying the emergency telephone number all along the highway. The
traffic is orderly Haryana Roadways buses and trucks drive in the
centre lane, leaving the right lane for fast traffic, as it should be
on a highway. The Chakervati Lake Complex is an excellent place to
halt for refreshments or food, and in addition toilets are clean and
useable. Haryana Tourism has done a commendable job at this place.
Panipat still remains an old battlefield to be negotiated at one's
own risk and it requires one to slow down considerably. Otherwise
driving on the G.T. Road is a safer and enjoyable experience, kudos
to the Haryana Government and the police.












   The moment one crosses the Ghaggar river bridge into Punjab, there
is a sea change in the quality, tone of traffic, and the surface of
the road. The road up to Sirhind is good and the drive is fine.
Thereafter it is poor. The Rajpura bypass has been very well made.
However, what strikes one while driving on the GT Road in Punjab is
the absence of the traffic police, very little or no sign posting and
aggressive driving by private buses on the right of the road. I
presume most of these private buses are owned by MLAs or ministers
and no one dare check them.

The fact remains, they are a menace to all those driving on the road
and need to be controlled, by making them drive on the left or centre
lane of the road. Driving through the cities of Gobindgarh, Khanna,
Ludhiana and Phagwara is a nerve-racking experience with the traffic
police hardly visible at the cross-roads except in Phagwara, and the
scooterist/cyclist shooting across the road, crosses it before you.
Even the scooterists drive at full speed and compete with cars to
overtake the slow-moving traffic, little realising the danger they
expose themselves to in this act of overtaking the slow traffic.

Traffic in Punjab needs to be improved drastically. The traffic
police must be effective in all towns, sign posting and road signs
must be installed. The traffic police must have traffic road patrols
as in Haryana. The emergency telephone number to rung for first aid,
police and recovery must be displayed on the highway at regular
intervals. Then only can we consider Punjab as a progressive state of
the country, over to the Chief Minister and the DGP of Punjab for
action to improve the traffic.

Lt Gen KAMALJIT SINGH (retd), Gurdaspur

Article on a Swiss site about the NHDP project.
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1790488


New roads set to drive India forward

By Alan Wheatley, Asian Economics Correspondent

BILASPUR, India (Reuters) - In the blistering heat of
northern India, cars and trucks speed along the
smooth, four-lane, black-topped
highway from New Delhi to Jaipur.

In many developing countries, it would be an ordinary
scene.

But in India, the road is a marvel, part of a $14
billion (8.8 billion pounds) National Highway
Development Project to improve a clogged,
rutted network of roads that has exemplified for
foreign investors everything that is rotten about the
country's infrastructure.

The scheme, one of the world's largest road projects,
was dreamt up in 1998 by Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee. But the man turning it
into reality is Highways Minister B.C. Khanduri.

"I have tried to inculcate in people a sense of
urgency, and all along I have emphasised that you are
not constructing a road, you are writing
history," Khanduri told Reuters.

If Khanduri is executing the 13,300 km (8,300 mile)
project with military thoroughness, it is not
surprising. He spent 38 years in the army,
rising to the rank of major-general.

With contractors spurred on by a system of penalties
and bonuses, Khanduri is confident the first phase --
the "Golden Quadrilateral" linking
New Delhi, Mumbai, Madras and Calcutta -- will be
substantially completed ahead of schedule in December.

The project, which entails widening and strengthening
two-lane roads to four or six lanes, has given a big
boost to the economy, gobbling
up more than three million tonnes of cement and some
300,000 tonnes of steel a year. The World Bank
estimates users will save $2 billion a
year: the driving time from New Delhi to Jaipur has
been almost halved to just over three hours.

CHANGING MINDSET

Another big spin-off of the project is the expertise
that the country's road builders have accumulated,
said Santosh Nautiyal, chairman of the
National Highways Authority of India.

"Our road contractors now are feeling quite confident
about going anywhere in the world and executing road
contracts, and I'm sure they
will," Nautiyal said.

As notable as the road itself is the way it has been
financed through a mixture of funds from multilateral
development banks, a special
excise tax on fuel and an array of public-private
partnerships that are ground-breaking for India.

One method involves the government paying the road
contractor a long-term annuity, possibly with an
up-front grant to make the investment
viable; in return the contractor assumes the financial
risk of the project.

Officials are confident such deals will attract the
private money needed to fund almost $13 billion in new
infrastructure projects -- including
10,000 km (6,250 miles) of roads -- that Finance
Minister Jaswant Singh announced in his March budget.

"From my preliminary talks with people I find they're
quite enthusiastic," said Ashok Lahiri, Singh's chief
economic adviser.

Apart from the tangible benefits of the Golden
Quadrilateral, Khanduri hopes it will lay to rest the
pervasive assumption India cannot execute
infrastructure schemes on time and on budget.

"The mindset of people, both the constructors and the
road users, is changing," he said.

POWER FAILURE

Nowhere is new thinking more urgent than in the power
sector. Power cuts are common and many state power
boards, groaning under
huge debts, are near bankruptcy.

Many Indians would no more think of paying for power
than for fresh air. Transmission and distribution
losses -- a euphemism for theft -- eat
up 45 percent of all power generated.

Yet diplomats give the government credit for trying to
clean up the mess. A bill passed the lower house of
parliament last week that N.K.
Singh, an influential member of India's Planning
Commission, says will usher in a transparent
regulatory framework and deregulate power
generation, transmission and distribution.

"These are sustainable reforms and they provide a good
basis for sustained flows of investment, both domestic
and foreign," Singh said.

Sceptics abound, noting that power falls under the
remit of India's rambunctious states, not the central
government in Delhi.

What's more, foreign investors have been scared off by
drawn-out wrangling over Enron Corp's controversial
$2.9 billion Dabhol plant near
Bombay, which shut down in May 2001 following a row
with the local state power board over costs and
tariffs.

"Our track record needs a lot of improvement," said
T.K. Bhaumik, an adviser to the Confederation of
Indian Industry. "We need to make
things more transparent and less cumbersome."

Back on the Delhi-Jaipur road at the Bilaspur toll
plaza, Danie Steyn's experience is that change does
eventually happen.

Steyn is the local manager for Intertoll ICS CEcons, a
South African-Indian joint venture that won the
contract last September to run that
stretch of National Highway 8.

Steyn, a South African, rolls his eyes as he recalls
how some drivers would do anything at first, including
smashing through the toll barriers,
to avoid paying the 60 rupee fee.

Just seven months later, drivers are much more
disciplined. Traffic is up 30 percent and Bilaspur's
toll takings have reached a million
rupees a day.






__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
http://search.yahoo.com

From www.constructionupdate.com. Very nice points on other issues
that need to be addressed going forward with construction of the
highways and post-constructions concerns as well.

http://www.constructionupdate.com/coverstory/coverstory.asp?id=93


As the government goes full throttle on the NHDP, more and more
praise is coming its way. But experts expect it to pay a little more
attention to finer aspects, reports J. S. SAI.

"Hamare desh ke road mein gadde hain, ki gadde mein road hain, maalum
nahi padta…" (I do not know whether there are potholes in roads or
roads in potholes in this country!)
India has been moving at supersonic speed ever since Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee had made this comment in a lighter vein.
Most of the 5,846 km. long Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project, linking
Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai with world-class four and six-lane
roads, "would be ready by December 2003", a year ahead of schedule.
Geared to this end are several measures and promises: toll revenue to
be used for maintenance and creation of value-additions like
ambulances, service roads for local traffic, highway patrolling, etc;
foreign consultants supervising road construction; periodical reviews
by the Prime Minister and Major General B.C. Khanduri, Union Minister
of State for Road Transport and Highways…
People may still be sceptical, but several experts are convinced that
we are indeed getting world-class roads. "Yes, in most stretches
where four-laning has been undertaken," says Professor G. Raghuram,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, an infrastructure and
transportation expert. "The only problem stretches are where four-
laning has been done earlier. For instance, the Baroda-Bharuch four-
lane road that was completed a decade ago."
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been entrusted
with the task of implementing the Rs. 54,000 cr. National Highways
Development Project (NHDP). It is "India's largest ever highways
project" involving capacity enhancement of national highways and
four/six-laning of around 13,146 km.
India has 33 lakh km. of roadways. Of this, national highways account
for 58,000 km. (a mere 2 per cent) and the balance falls within the
purview of the states. Yet national highways carry over 40 per cent
of the total traffic. A sizeable portion of this flows in the
highways connecting the four metros - Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and
Mumbai.
When ready, the Rs. 27,000 cr. GQ (Phase I of the NHDP) alone would
slash travel time by 20-25 per cent and result in fuel and vehicle
maintenance cost savings of Rs. 8,000 cr. every year, according to a
World Bank study. "Transportation cost would go down by Rs. 12,000
cr. per year," says A.P. Bahadur, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways.
The savings would be much more when Phase II of the NHDP, comprising
the 7,300 km. long North-South (Kashmir and Kanyakumari) and East-
West (Saurashtra and Silchar) Corridor projects, is completed by
2006.

Time, cost overruns?
Would the GQ be completed by December 2003?
There is intense speculation with media reports saying that about 65
per cent of the work might spill over with cost escalating to Rs.
60,300 cr. as against the original Rs. 58,000 cr. at 1999
prices. "The GQ would meet its deadline," says Professor
Raghuram. "It has been going full steam, largely driven by the fact
that funds are available. The Finance Ministry has not ring-fenced
the cess on auto fuels intended for road development. However, there
might be marginal delays in the very difficult stretches."
"The NHDP is unique and unparalleled," says K.B. Rajoria, Past
President, Indian Road Congress. "In such a major project, slippages
cannot be avoided in spite of best efforts. The GQ is not likely to
be completed by December 2003."
"There should be no cost overrun," says Suneet Maheshwari, Managing
Director, Feedback Infrastructure Private Limited. "In fact, there
may be some savings as most of the EPC (engineering, procurement,
construction) contracts have been bid for aggressively by the
contractors and the average price is 10-20 per cent lower than the
cost estimated by the NHAI."



   Bids for Phase II
With such an impressive show in Phase I, the Government plans to
surge ahead. "The tendering process for NHDP Phase II has already
begun," says Anand Bordia, IRS, Member (Finance), NHAI. "Bids are now
being invited for projects (around 500 km.) with external aid.
Between March and September 2003, bids would be called for stretches,
with a total length of 2,500 km. The tendering process for the
remaining sections would be done next year."

Funds
Though funds have been tied up for the GQ, additional finance has to
be generated for Phase II. To bridge the shortfall, does the
government plan to levy an additional cess on petrol and diesel as
suggested by the road transport and highway ministry? "Certain
proposals are being considered by the Government," says Bordia.
"It may now be possible to consider revenue from tolled stretches as
additional funds for investment and repayment of borrowed funds,"
says Maheshwari. "There are some 100 per cent owned SPVs (Special
Purpose Vehicles) of the NHAI such as the Moradabad bypass and the
Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway. There is a possibility that the NHAI
may divest equity from these projects in favour of operators and the
proceeds applied towards further investments in roads or repayment of
obligations."

Costs
It costs Rs. 4-4.5 cr. to build each kilometre of national
highway. "The cost will be high if we build world-class roads," says
Professor P.K. Sikdar, Director, Central Road Research Institute,
Delhi. "However, the performance must be strictly monitored to see
whether the cost is justified in the long run."

How can one control costs?
"Reduced land acquisition time; strict control and scrutiny of the
pre-feasibility studies including planning; rigorous control and
evaluation of design, etc.; and a very systematic construction
schedule," says Professor Sikdar.

Incentives
Income-tax exemption for 10 years to encourage private-sector
participation. MAT, however, is applicable.
Total custom duty exemption on road-building equipment. o Grant up to
40 per cent for BOT schemes.
Bonus ranging from 1-6 per cent for early completion.
Prompt payment within 15 days.
The government to provide land at no cost and free from all
encumbrances.
Housing and real-estate development, an integral part of the highway
projects, will be treated as infrastructure and will be entitled for
same tax benefits.



Toll and annuity
In Phase I, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects had initially
evoked poor response. However, subsequently, the NHAI exceeded its
own targets for BOT schemes: contracts worth Rs. 3,300 cr. had been
signed against a target of Rs. 1,690 cr.
"It would not be appropriate to infer that BOT projects had evoked
poor response initially," says Bahadur. "The government has taken a
number of initiatives for facilitating private participation:
creating a proper legal framework by amending the National Highway
Act whereby a fee can be charged for the use of NH sections;
finalising standard bid documents including a concession agreement;
and offering grant up to 40 per cent of the project cost."
Nevertheless, toll-based projects had not been as popular as annuity-
based (where the successful bidder gets a fixed amount during the
concession period for financing, building, maintaining a project)
ones.
"The annuity approach has found favour amongst the contractors as the
element of revenue risk is reduced," says Athar Shahab, Assistant
Vice-President, Infrastructure Development Finance Company
Limited. "However, this is not merely a deferred payment construction
contract. It has been positioned as a totally new concept that allows
the government (the NHAI) to 'buy' road service from the annuity
concessionaire. The concept is based on the cornerstones of
availability and quality. So if there are deficiencies in these two,
annuity may be reduced."
"There is a debate as to whether annuity is a costly option," says
Ajith Thomas, Chief Manager, Infrastructure Project Group, ICICI Bank
Limited. "For, the market risk is borne by the government. If that is
so, the government can borrow at 7 per cent and itself run the
project at a lower cost than the private sector that borrows at 11
per cent. So there should be proper lifecycle cost studies."
"There had been seven annuity contracts in Phase I," says
Bordia. "Their number will remain the same or increase slightly. Last
time, the quotes were on the higher side. We would not accept high
quotes this time."

Regulatory body
The Government is keen on creating an autonomous and independent
regulatory authority for the road sector by the year-end. If this
happens, the NHAI's role might undergo a change.


Quality
What steps have been taken to ensure quality?
"Several foreign consultants have been roped in and entrusted with
the task of regular supervision," says a top government official.
"A lot more needs to be done regarding quality," says
Rajoria. "Quality Management Systems, documented in the Indian Road
Congress' Special Publications SP-47 (1998) and SP-57 (2000) are yet
to be put in practice."

How does India compare with world standards?
"Till now, we lagged behind as we did not design roads for a horizon
year," says Professor Sikdar. "We used to make roads to suit our
current requirements, and that is why our roads used to be bad. Roads
like GQ are designed and built for the estimated traffic of a future
date. Therefore, if they are constructed with strict quality control,
they cannot go bad within their proposed service life. If a road goes
bad even after proper planning and design, its delivery is to be
questioned. That's our biggest weakness. I hope we are avoiding this
in the NHDP."
"One of the best things the government did was to allow duty-free
import of road equipment," says Professor Raghuram. "Some Indian
companies have come up, where the standard of road-building is of
world standard. All this has brought about a paradigm shift in the
way roads are built. Earlier, we used to talk of employment
generation, appropriate technology, etc. Today we are saying, 'Let us
get the best roads'."

Foreign players
The quest for quality has prompted India to rope in foreign
consultants and companies. This, however, has triggered the
allegation that foreign players have cornered most of the contracts.
Denying this, the government has said that 86 contracts have been
given to Indians, 35 to joint ventures and 12 to foreigners in Phase
I.
"Just the way they think, approach a problem, plan the construction,
I think it is good to have had these people," says Professor
Raghuram. "Because of them, we have made a big jump in construction
methods."
"India never built such roads before," says Professor
Sikdar. "Therefore, it was necessary to induct some foreign players.
Certainly, the technology in terms of construction equipment etc,
which we used to have, was not suitable for making world-class roads.
Thus, the government has provided duty exemption for sophisticated
equipment - high capacity hot-mix plants, slip-form pavers, sensor
pavers for bituminous construction, various types of high-performance
compactors, etc. Some of this equipment is now being made in India."

Will there be more foreign players in Phase II?
"Their number might not exceed Phase I level," says Maheshwari. "More
international players are now looking at India. However, as the
Indian players are gaining more experience, they may go in for these
contracts on their own at very competitive rates. However, they may
face some stiff competition on the price front from some Asian
companies."

"300,000 MT steel needed" - Official Spokesman, Tata Steel Limited
What has been the demand increase due to the GQ?

It is estimated that the GQ rebar requirement is around 40 MT per km.

How much steel has the project soaked up so far?

The total demand for rebars for the project is estimated at 300,000
MT.


Toll

The GQ will generate an annual toll of Rs. 20 lakh per each completed
kilometre. However, this works out to a mere 5 per cent of the cost
of construction. Would such revenue generation lend to the viability
of the project? What steps may be taken to improve the situation
considering the Mumbai-Pune Expressway experience, "where even
operating costs are not being met"?
"The fee being charged from the users of the improved NH sections is
not for recovering the investment made," says Bahadur. "The revenue
would be utilised for the maintenance of these facilities and for
value-additions like signage, ambulances, etc. Presently, the funding
options of cess on fuel, market borrowings and assistance from
international lending institutions are being adopted."

"However, tolling will fund projects with external aid," says Bordia.
"Our road network has always suffered due to paucity of maintenance
funds," says Professor Sikdar. "If we do not maintain the GQ roads,
it will be a disaster for the country."
Is the NHAI's tolling strategy right?

"In India, large projects have not taken off on toll basis," says
Thomas. "However, what they are doing is probably logical. They got
the mix right considering that toll and cess cannot fund any project
fully. Perhaps today, their contribution is much more than what it
was 10-15 years ago."

Viability
How do we compare with world standards?
"The world over, toll would be much higher," says Thomas.
"In no country can the entire road network be viable purely on the
basis of toll," says Shahab. "Because of the strong externalities
associated with road infrastructure, these projects generate
significantly high economic rates of return even though the financial
rate of return may be lower."
"Viability cannot be assessed purely in terms of direct revenues,"
says Professor Raghuram. "The crucial question is, how can we plough
back the benefits into other infrastructure activities? For instance,
there could be revenue from road-side property development. If the
Government is the primary investor, all this may not matter as
revenue is accruing back to the Government - taxes, etc. So viability
is not the issue. We would rather spend well, and get the best
quality roads."

How can toll projects be made more attractive?
"Toll-based BOT projects will be successful on high-traffic
corridors," says Maheshwari. "With growing awareness of the benefits
of good roads and the consequent willingness to pay as seen in
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, these would be more successful in
Phase II. However, a lot depends on the selection of these toll-based
stretches. One of the main reasons for the risk-averse behaviour of
developers is the absence of adequate and reliable data on traffic
patterns. We understand that the NHAI has embarked on a nation-wide
traffic survey that will generate two-three years of traffic count
data for different stretches. Once this information is available to
developers, there may be renewed interest in toll-based projects."
"The financial viability can only improve if the tolls are revised
upwards (with the undesirable consequence of increased user
resistance) or the operation and maintenance costs are brought down,"
says Shahab. "However, if the central and state governments
facilitate industrial development along the GQ, it would lead to
enhancement in both the financial (through increase in traffic) and
economic return."
What kind of measures do bankers expect to make the projects
viable? "We have to do comprehensive traffic studies," says
Thomas. "We at ICICI Bank are already doing this. Second, the NHAI
could maintain a database of toll collections. A proper analysis of
the data would throw up adequate pointers about the viability of
projects and boost the confidence of the investors. Third, we should
know what the entire road network is like in one shot. We know what
the NHDP network is like. But little is known about the state
government projects. For instance, Madhya Pradesh is looking at 14
projects connecting the national highways. As every good road
reallocates traffic, we have no idea what the traffic patterns would
be on these roads. Fourth, while most banks are interested in shorter
tenure, infrastructure projects have long pay-back periods. As banks'
fund-raising is for a maximum period of three years, there is always
that hesitancy to fund projects beyond 10 years. We do not have well-
developed capital markets like in the US, where long-term instruments
are available."

Contracts awarded
Status: August 31, 2002
  No of Contracts Length Awarded Cost (Rs. in cr.)
Total No. of Contractors  133  5,322 18.579
o Indian Firms  86  2,876 10,490
o Joint Ventures  35  1,792  6,115
o Foreigners  12  654  1,974


East-West corridor
"As most of our traffic is concentrated around the GQ, the project
will be a boon for vehicle-users in these segments," says Professor
Raghuram. "However, I am not as sure of the East-West, North-South
corridors as they seem to be driven more by sentiments. A Mumbai-
Kolkata East-West corridor would be more productive than the East-
West link planned at present. I am more optimistic about the North-
South corridor."
"Perhaps this is true of the East," says Thomas. "However, Gujarat is
considered the gateway to the North in terms of port traffic."

Impact on economy
"The NHDP will employ 2,50,000 workers and 10,000 supervisors every
day," says Bahadur. "Around 18 cr. man-days would be generated by
December 2003. As for the impact on the economy, cement production
will show 8 per cent growth, steel 7 per cent and goods vehicle
production 53 per cent. Besides, the NHDP would provide speedy,
comfortable and safe travel and would lead to overall development."
According to Major General B.C. Khanduri, each NHDP kilometre needs
1,700 tonnes of cement and 100 tonnes of steel.
"Trucks today make about 250 km. in a day (they are able to travel at
30 km. per hour)," says Professor Sikdar. "These trucks will travel
at double their existing speed and cover 450-500 km. a day. The fuel
saving will be about 25-30 per cent per km. of travel. The country
will be greatly benefited due to the foreign exchange savings.
Transportation, particularly of goods, impacts the economy in every
possible way. Therefore, the GQ will bring in many benefits. The
effect will be more pronounced when the N-S/E-W corridors are also in
place."

States

Some states seem to have inter-connect grievances while the
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has asked the NHAI to
share 40 per cent of the cost of the Rs. 1,630 cr. Mumbai-Pune
Expressway. The MSRDC wants the Expressway to be part of the GQ.

How are such problems to be sorted out?
"There are no inter-connect grievances," says Bahadur. "The MSRDC,
through the Maharashtra government, had asked for financial support
for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Various options are likely to be
considered."
"Being a concurrent subject, roads will always have inter-connect
grievances," says Maheshwari.

Research for NHDP

Has any special research project been undertaken for the GQ?
"There are a few of them," says Professor Sikdar. "First, polymer-
modified bitumen (PMB) is going to be used in large lengths of the GQ
and in about 20 different sections, modifying polymers are to be
used. The performance of these 20 sections will be monitored by us
for establishing the efficacy and advantages. Second, we will design
and experiment on the structural layers with PMB. This will establish
whether we can reduce the thickness of bituminous structural layers
due to PMB. Third, about 1,600 km. of the GQ will be laid with
concrete. Concrete roads for such heavy-duty and high-density
corridors (inter-city roads) have never been designed before. It is
necessary to study their efficiency, particularly the temperature
variation and stress-strain behaviour. Fourth, we have already given
a fly-ash-based design for the 56 km. long Dankuni-Kolaghat section
of NH-5. We are putting up instruments at the Visakhapatnam Port
connectivity link where band drains are being used for faster
consolidation of thick marine clay. Many more such research projects
are being undertaken so that authenticated findings are available for
future projects."

Highway funding plan allocation substantially increased (4 times)
Dedicated road fund
Cess of Rs. 1/litre on petrol and diesel
Rs. 5600 cr. (US$ 1170 mn.)/ year
50% of diesel cess on rural roads
50% of diesel plus petrol cess for - NHs - 57.5% - States - 30.0% -
ROBs - 12.5%
Private sector funding



Lessons

"The most important lesson has been putting in place a transparent
bidding mechanism for award of projects," says Shahab. "At the same
time, project preparation has left a lot to be desired. An important
outcome has been the NHAI's ability to harness private sector
investment in the roads sector, albeit to a limited extent. The NHAI,
as the procurement agency, needs to tighten its belt as far as
fulfilment of its contractual obligations is concerned. There have
been some delays in land acquisition. Going forward, the NHAI would
need to address the human resources issues. It is imperative that
they create a cadre of managers whose special experience gained
during Phase I continues to be available in future."
"Before undertaking the NHDP, no traffic pattern studies had been
done," says a top bank official. "In the absence of such studies,
convincing investors becomes difficult."
"Land acquisition has to be made much faster - it may need a change
in the law of the land; and planning and pre-feasibility studies must
be more rigorous. For instance, traffic forecast (demand estimation)
should be more systematic and accurate. Also, low-quality performance
of the consultants and contractors must be punished and penalised,"
says Professor Sikdar.
"The compromise is still in terms of softer aspects," says Professor
Raghuram. "For instance, roadside signages. These are crucial if you
really want to increase speed levels without compromising on safety.
Also, as four-laned highways are not really expressways, the flow of
traffic would be disturbed at intersections. No thought has been
given to the flow into and out of these intersections. What is even
more important is creating infrastructure in cities so that the intra-
city traffic keeps pace with the inter-city speed. We already have
bypasses. Besides four-laning these bypasses, we must have one or two
radials going into the city centre to remove the bottlenecks in the
path of the long-distance traveller."
"To improve quality, we have realised that we have to say goodbye to
quantity-based contracts," says the top government official. "The
focus would now shift to performance (quality) and timely completion.
And greater attention must be paid to service roads, intersection
points, etc."
As the government goes full throttle on the NHDP, praise seems to be
flowing its way. However, there are still questions: "Can we ensure
that long-term financial instruments are in place so that bankers can
pump in more funds? Why aren't we looking at the intersection points
so that the traffic moves smoothly? Why can't we do proper traffic
pattern studies so that toll revenue can be increased?" Then, the all-
important question: Is the Government taking enough care about the
maintenance of these roads lest India ends up where it began - the
Prime Minister's dig at potholes?

In other words, the government has been doing well, but perfection is
just a few hops away. Major General B.C. Khanduri, are you listening?

I think you are right with what you say, Vivek. I
think the really thorny issue here is the one by the
the truckers demanding an end to harassment by the
police at checkposts, etc. Legitimate.

Unfortunately, it is like saying - end corruption.
Even our presidents and PMs in the past have said that
the monster is presently uncontrollable.

IMHO, the only way to remove this menace would be to
simply end the stupid concepts of Entry Tax, Octroi,
etc. In fact, doing that would bring more benefits to
trade, industry and transportation than the Golden
Quadrilateral and other new highways are expected to.
To realize that, just calculate the driving time for
travelling from Chennai to Delhi for a truck carrying
Hyundai cars at 60 kmph. Add in the time spent at all
state borders, getting your truck weighed at EVERY
post, negotiating the deal, wait while your challan is
written out by lethargic attendants, and we are
talking about a huge %age markup in the time actually
spent driving. Now picture driving @ 80kmph average
and little waiting time at state borders. ONLY THEN
will we be talking about time savings of 30-40% for
long-distance trips.

Although he has not achieved much in the negotiations
so far, I still believe that B C Khanduri, the
minister for transport and highways, will keep a
reality check on the PM and other negotiators from any
stupid giveaways like "No toll tax for truckers",
which will take the floor out of the whole highways
program.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that the
strike ends in weakening of the unions as well as more
conducive business conditions for the transportation
industry.

Sameer
--- Vivek Garg <engp1540@...> wrote:
> It is good that Govt. has taken this stand. It is
> high time now for Govt
> to discipline the transporter mafia.
>
> But the success of such strong stands can be ensured
> if Govt has a back
> up plan. These words would be fruitless , if this
> strike forces Govt to
> agree to transporters' demands like it happened in
> case of Auto Rickshaw
> strike in Delhi.
>
> On Govt side , the practise of palm greasing and
> corruption by police
> and toll tax officials should be taken seriously .
> From transporters'
> side , overloading etc should be addressed.
>
> Although an ideal situation, but if people around
> the country understand
> the impliations of what Govt is trying to do and
> what Transporters want
> to do , then Govt's stand can break transporters'
> back, otherwise it
> will all be useless.
>
> Vivek
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> indiahighways-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com

It is good that Govt. has taken this stand. It is high time now for Govt
to discipline the transporter mafia.

But the success of such strong stands can be ensured if Govt has a back
up plan. These words would be fruitless , if this strike forces Govt to
agree to transporters' demands like it happened in case of Auto Rickshaw
strike in Delhi.

On Govt side , the practise of palm greasing and corruption by police
and toll tax officials should be taken seriously . From transporters'
side , overloading etc should be addressed.

Although an ideal situation, but if people around the country understand
the impliations of what Govt is trying to do and what Transporters want
to do , then Govt's stand can break transporters' back, otherwise it
will all be useless.

Vivek


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr22/i1.asp

No waiver of highway tax: Govt

DH News Service NEW DELHI, April 21

Transport Minister B C Khanduri today made it clear that highway tax,
which the operators had demanded to be waived, was not negotiable.

As the truckers' strike entered its eighth day, the stalemate seemed to
continue as a meeting between top BJP leaders and the striking
transporters failed to arrive at any concrete decision on the issue.

Stating that the funds collected from such taxes were utilised for the
development of highways, which in turn was responsible for the rise in
the profits of transporters, Mr Khanduri said estimates had shown that
the transport operators had increased their profits by about 30-35 per
cent in the last two years. Mr Khanduri said his ministry had also asked
the governments of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat and Madhya
Pradesh to take stringent action against overloading practices as
demanded by the truckers' union.

The issue rocked both the Houses of Parliament with Opposition members
alleging that little effort had been made by the government to resolve
the issue, which was causing woes to the common man. Congress Deputy
leader Shivraj Patil said in the Lok Sabha that the strike was causing
widespread concern among the people.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP T Subbarami Reddy
accused the government of not making adequate efforts to solve the
issue. Leader of Opposition in the House Manmohan Singh also wanted to
know the steps taken by the government to end the strike. Mr Khanduri is
likely to make a statement in Parliament tomorrow.

With reports coming in from various states about hike in prices of
essential commodities and adverse impact on the supply of raw materials
in factories, hectic parleys were held today between the top BJP leaders
including Pramod Mahajan and the representatives of the All India Motor
Transport Congress (AIMTC) here today.

As the parties failed to arrive at a concrete decision the transporters
also met Union minister for Murli Manohar Joshi who promised to take up
the issue with the prime minister.

Even though truckers in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa called
off their agitation late this evening the AIMTC, which was spearheading
the protest movement, claimed that the stir was still on with only
"disgruntled elements" having withdrawn.

"We do not have the details, but on the main demand of the abolition of
toll tax, the government is not even ready to talk. How can we be sure
that those ministries will accept our demands?" asked AIMTC Secretary
General J M Saxena.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This would be a key bottleneck for people on the Mumbai - Bangalore part
of the GQ. Another one to add to the NHAI's cap.



The countdown has begun and in the next 9 - 10 months we will see
roughly 2000 kms of four laned highways and even some expressway
stretches opening up for the public.



Now someone should explain to the striking truckers what the link
between expansive roads and economic development is :-(



Nevertheless, cheers to good roads!



Sameer



http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=49229



Dehu Rd-Katraj stretch nears finish


<http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html?mailto=vvdeshmukh@expre
ssindia.com> Manish Umbrajkar
Pune, April 14: WITH the Dehu Road-Katraj stretch of the westerly bypass
nearing completion, expressway-users can now hope to reach the Dehu Road
end of the expressway from the city quickly.

Commuters had complaints that they spent considerable time reaching the
city from Dehu Road and vice-versa due to the bad condition of the
westerly bypass between Dehu Road and Katraj.

Besides, lack of a proper road from the University circle to Aundh and
from University circle to Baner had hindered motorists from reaching the
expressway fast.

Now, the Baner Road is nearly complete and the westerly bypass too
promises smoother travel. Earlier, it took nearly an hour to reach the
expressway from the city. The time has been reduced by half, now.

What remains is marking of lanes and instruction boards at various
places. With separate roads for traffic in either directions, the
movement of vehicles is safer and faster.

Says project director of the National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI), Manohar Ashtavadhani, ''Work on four-laning of the 34.2 km Dehu
Road-Katraj westerly bypass is nearly complete except at some points. By
May-end, the four-laning work will be fully complete,'' Ashtavadhani
said.

He added that commuters should drive on the bypass with caution, as this
road has become another urban road. ''We are providing separate service
roads for local vehicles between various junctions so that the highway
traffic is not affected,'' he said.

Work on the Rs 130-crore project of four-laning of the road started in
June 2000 and was expected to be completed in October 2002. The work has
been delayed by six months.

The connectivity for the underpasses built in the project is to be
completed at various places.

Ashtavadhani said work on shifting of pipelines at these places has
delayed the project's completion.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I read somewhere else that they're calling this Kerala's Expressway
of Hope. The plan to build an expressway from the North to the South,
retain space for a "bullet train" to come later, lay optical fibre
for connectivity and give a tremendous boost to the tourism market
along the way. There are stories of some legislators being unhappy
their district does not get covered by the proposed road but so far
the Antony govt. has handled things openly and transparently and have
invited a public debate. Let's hope it sets a new benchmark in Indian
Roads !

Cheers to good roads!

Sameer

http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=9232

Kochi: Kerala, has embarked on an ambitious scheme to put its roads
on par with world standards, has received seven 'expressions of
interest,' including from NRIs and foreign firms, for a major North-
South Expressway project.

Among the companies which have shown preliminary interest in the Rs
64 billion Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project, showcased at the
Global Investor Meet in Kochi in January, are Essar, IL&FS and one
company from Malaysia.

A committee, comprising SBI Caps, IL&FS and IDFC, is examining the
issue of financial structuring and the cabinet will decide on the
government stake in the project after receiving the committee's
report, which is expected by this month-end.

"The Government may retain 26 per cent or even 51 per cent equity in
the project. We will decide on it after receiving the committee
report," Dr Muneer said.
Land acquisition for the project -- a 500-km, four-lane expressway
from Kasaragod in the north to Parassala in the south -- is expected
to take one year. The entire project is expected to be completed over
three phases by 2013, the minister said.


Stating that full care would be taken to rehabilitate about 7,000
families expected to be displaced by the project, Dr Muneer said
about Rs 17.58 billion would be needed for this task.

In another major project worth Rs 16 billion, aided by World Bank,
the government is upgrading 1610 km of roads in the state. Modern
machinery, technology and materials are being used under this scheme,
the minister said.

In recognition of the fact that poor road conditions are a stumbling
block to the development of tourism, which has been identified as a
thrust area, the government plans to develop good roads to places of
tourist interest, he said.
The roads to tourist destinations include Kottayam-Kumarakom-
Cherthala Highway (estimated project cost Rs 2.20 billion) and Munnar-
Kodaikkanal Highway (Rs 1 billion).



Other projects in the offing are Ponnani-Khozhikode Coastal Highway
(Rs 3.82 billion), Cochin Airport-Seaport Highway (Rs 2 billion),
Vadakkancherry-Pollachi Road (Rs 2 billion), Kottayam-Nedumbassery
Road and Hill Highways.

Stating that the revamp of National Highways also figured high on his
department's agenda, Dr Muneer said the state government was closely
following the construction of Kozhikode byepass stages I, II and III
and the Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram bypasses.

"We have also received positive signals from the Centre to our
request to convert the Cherthala-Parassala sector (205 km) of NH 47
to four lanes, at an estimated cost of Rs 6 billion," he said.
In a major bid to improve the quality of the roads, the government
had decided that henceforth all state roads, major district roads and
national highways would be made with rubber-modified bitumen (RMB).
Though ten per cent costlier than ordinary bitumen, the RMB roads
were found to be 20 per cent more durable, he added.




Another area of focus for the state government was the construction
of bridges, specially Railway Over Bridges (ROBs), Dr Muneer said.

Pointing out that only six ROBs had come up in Kerala in the past 30
years, the minister said that in a pioneering effort to redress this
situation, the state government set up a Roads and Bridges
Development Corporation two years ago.

The Corporation had approached the Railways to let it construct the
bridges and the approach roads instead of depending on the former to
construct the ROBs.
In a landmark decision, Railways had agreed to let the Corporation
handle the construction, confining its own role to giving clearance
to designs and assessing the safety aspects.


"After the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)), this
Corporation is the only body in the country to get permission to
build ROBs," Dr Muneer said.

Plans were immediately drawn up for constructing 50 ROBs in the
state. Of these, 20 are under construction while the plans for
another 18 have been approved.

Three of the ROBs -- one each in Palaghat, Kozhikode and Trichur
districts -- are to be opened in July. After that, the department
hopes to open at least one ROB every month, the minister said.
"We have miles to go in fulfilling our dream of world class
infrastructure. Our humble efforts are aimed to achieve this vision
so that we can contribute our share towards a resurgent Kerala," he
added.

I remembered reading this article that time and I thought this is
one good piece that can be read by all highway enthusiasts.

Here is the link: http://www.the-week.com/22nov24/cover.htm

Guys: You should also visit the website of NHAI. Lots of info.

www.nhai.org

Regards

Giridhar

Nice article on the Press Information Bureau's web site. A little too
mushy of Shri Vajpayee but otherwise accurate with it's facts and
figures.

Here's to the GQ and good roads! Cheers!

Sameer

http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fapr2003/f020420031.html

BUILDING INDIA'S NATIONAL PRIDE: THE GOLDEN QUADRILATERAL


Dinkar Shukla*


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Kilometre by kilometre, India is building what can aptly be called
its national pride. This is by way of taking in hand the largest-ever
highway project seeking to connect the four corners of the country as
well as the four metropolitan cities with world class roads and
uninterrupted traffic flow. Under this ambitious National Highway
Development Project (NHDP), work is proceeding apace on 4/6 laning of
approximately 14,850 km road network through the length and breadth
of the country.

The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visionary project,
the NHDP's first phase includes the Golden Quadrilateral which seeks
to connect the metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi.
Work on the second phase relating to the creation of a North-South
corridor connecting Srinagar with Kanyakumari and on the East-West
corridor linking Silchar with Porbandar is also underway
simultaneously.

Realising that road transport has remained under-utilised, Shri
Vajpayee visualized far-reaching reforms in this sector. The result
is this high profile highway project. The Prime Minister hopes that
upon its completion the project will place India on the fast lane to
socio-economic development. He had laid the foundation stone of the
project on January 6, 1999. Work on the two phases is at various
stages and is officially stated to be going on satisfactorily. The
National Highways Authority of India, an autonomous body under the
Ministry of Road Transport and highways, is executing the project.
The originally stipulated cost of the project is Rs. 54,000 crore.

Under Golden Quadrilateral, so nicknamed because of its geographical
contours, manifested in the linking of the metros, a total of 5,850
km of road length is to be built. Since its inception the project is
racing towards its completion in five years. The corridor project
envisaging a 7,300 km road length is to be completed by the end of
2007.

The cost break-up of the quadrilateral and the corridor projects is
envisaged at Rs. 24,000 and Rs. 30,000 crore respectively. Finding
resources of such magnitude was indeed a challenge. But, through a
landmark decision the Union Government imposed a nominal cess of
rupee one per litre on petrol and diesel. The fund so collected is
being put aside in a non-lapsable Central Road Fund (CRF). An equal
sum will be provided by the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank. Rs. 10,000 crore will come from market borrowings and the
remaining Rs. 4,000 crore from the private sector. It is noteworthy
that such huge funds are being mobilized for the first time for road
development in the country.

Apart from the existing world-class roads, the project's focus is on
enhanced safety, better riding surface and road geometry, traffic
management and noticeable signages. The other features are divided
carriageways and service roads, grade separators, over-bridges and
underpasses for uninterrupted traffic flow, bypasses and wayside
amenities along with ambulances and cranes. According to a World Bank
study, this will result in an annual saving of about Rs. 8,000 crore
at 1999 prices on the Golden Quadrilateral alone. It is to be noted
that Indian firms are competing successfully and have bagged a
majority of contracts.

To encourage the country's road construction industry, the Central
Government has offered many concessions and incentives to them. They
include income tax exemption for 10 years from earnings from the
Project and total customs duty exemption on road building equipment
not being produced in the country. In the Build-Operate-Transfer
(BOT) scheme, grants up to 40 per cent has been permitted.

In addition, bonds floated by the National Highways Authority of
India, which is charged with the execution of the project, have been
exempted from capital gains. Attractive incentives have also been
announced for time-bound completion of work by the participating
companies. To assure quality, however, they have to give a five-year
guarantee for the executed work.

As of today, over 40 per cent of Indian roads are unsurfaced Seen
against the backdrop of an explosion in vehicular traffic there is a
clear strain on the road network. That our national highways, which
constitute barely two per cent of the total network, carry about 40
per cent of the total traffic is ample illustration of the tremendous
pressure on this crucial infrastructure.

In a country where 43 per cent reads are unsurfaced and just 25 per
cent motorable, the benefits of such a project are incalculable.
Imagine that slow movement of commercial vehicles results in an
annual loss of Rs. 30,000 crore. Poor maintenance of the national
highways causes a huge wear and tear and consequent obstruction in
traffic flow. In this backdrop the initiative taken by the Government
in the road transport sector to overhaul the system generates high
hopes.


Gains

In plain terms, the initiative will result in colossal economic and
social gains. It will give a big push to the road construction
industry, lead to a huge growth in cement and steel demands, 40 lakh
and three lakh metric tonnes annual requirement, boost trade and
business, result in savings in vehicle operating costs and ensure
faster, comfortable, smoother and safer road journeys. Most
importantly, it will generate huge employment opportunities. It is
estimated that an average of 40 persons are engaged per day per km
length, creating 73 million mandays in a year. It will also mean a
big boost to the rural economy by way of providing direct and faster
access from the hinterland to the main marketing centers in the
metros and other towns.

The NHDP is India's biggest road project since Sher Shah Suri built
the Grand Trunk Road in the 16th century. Day-by-day an average of 17
km of single-length national highway and five km of 4-laned roads are
being added to the network,. Whereas India built just 556 km of 4/6
lane highways in the last 50 years, the accomplishment during the
1999-2007 period would be a record 14,850 km. A special feature of
this most ambitious infrastructure project is port connectivity. The
major ports such as Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai,
Tuticorin, Kochi, Mangalore, Mormugoa and Kandla are also being
connected by superfine roads.

Until recently, over 1,350 km long road networks under the Golden
Quadrilateral and over 850 km under the Corridor Project have been
completed. Many important portions have already been opened to
traffic. Work on the remaining part of the programme is in different
stages of completion. To quote the Prime Minister, when completed,
the project will further integrate our great land through a network
of world-class highways. This will place India on the fast lane to
socio-economic development. Indeed, on the highway to prosperity!
(PIB Features)

*Senior Journalist, Bhopal

From Business Standard - An article on why NHAI is doing a better
job at highway building that previous efforts in India.

After the slow way, the expressway

Sunil Jain | March 22, 2003 14:56 IST


While a state public works department takes around 72 months to
complete a project, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
finishes the job in 24-30 months with just 500 employees.

The method is simple: it outsources all the work. The core team
simply ensures that the project comes together seamlessly.

In the past 50 years, according to NHAI officials, just 556 km of
four - or six-lane highways were built, which works out to 11.12 km
per year. In contrast, the NHAI will build 14,846 km of such
highways by 2007, or 1,650 km a year.

For instance, the construction of the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway
was started by the public works department in 1984, but legal
problems stalled it. The project, which was handed over to the NHAI
in September 1999, will be completed by the end of 2003.

The public works department of Madhya Pradesh has 46,000 employees,
but has built just 1,000 km of roads in the past 15-16 years.

Apart from outsourcing construction and technical work, the NHAI
will soon be handing out contracts for the maintenance of roads. For
example, Intertoll of South Africa has an eight-year contract for
maintaining the Delhi-Jaipur highway.

The NHAI's office in New Delhi is also looked after by outsiders.
There are no drivers and official cars, only taxis hired on long-
term contracts. A consultant has been hired to take care of tax
deductions at source for payment of bills. Negotiations are also on
with two banks for online transfer of money to the NHAI's 61 project
implementation units.

Outsourcing has even caught on in some states. Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Digvijay Singh has decided to allow village communities and
panchayats to hire school teachers without any bureaucratic
interference.

According to the state's chief secretary, AV Singh, the government
has contracted fertiliser co-operatives like Iffco and Kribhco and
even private-sector dhanukas to conduct agricultural extension work
in 17 districts.

Other states like Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal and Rajasthan have
hired the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy to collect and
publish data on their respective economies.

Rajasthan has even hired the agency to provide data on the
industries that are doing well in order to correlate tax collection
with the growth in industrial output and ensure that each industry
pays its commensurate share of taxes.

Though the government's outsourcing is not quite in the same league
as that of corporate India, it's a good start.

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323125514
<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323125514&Title=Sou
thern+News+-+Karnataka&rLink=0> &Title=Southern+News+-+Karnataka&rLink=0

   _____

  <http://www.newindpress.com/index.asp> Home  |
<http://www.newindpress.com/newsHeadlines.asp?Page=l> Breaking News  |
<http://www.indiavarta.com/shopping/> Shopping  |
<http://www.newindpress.com/Archives/> Archives  |
<http://www.newindpress.com/Mail> Contact Us  |
<http://www.newindpress.com/AboutUs/> About Us  |
<http://www.indiavarta.com/advertise/> Advertise  |
<http://www.indiavarta.com/weather/> Weather  |
<http://www.indiavarta.com/television/> TV


  Newindpress.com <http://www.newindpress.com/newimages/indpress.gif>

  <http://www.indiavarta.com/shopping/clothes/shirts/Croc/> Click here to
get details.


  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=l> Breaking News

  Sorry. Your Browser doesn't support Java Applet
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Print edition
Top  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=h> stories
This is  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=o> India
Sports <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=s>
Business <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=b>
Infotech <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=n>
Out of the World <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=w>
NRIs <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=8>
States <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=p>
Orissa <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=q>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Southern News
Andhra  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=a> Pradesh
Karnataka <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=k>
Kerala <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=r>
Tamil  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=t> Nadu
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Features
Cinema <http://www.indiavarta.com/startrek/>
Lifestyle  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsHome.asp?page=4> & People
Your day today <http://www.newindpress.com/daytoday/>
Health  <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=3> & Science
Cartoons <http://www.newindpress.com/newsheadlines.asp?page=1>
Your views <http://www.indiavarta.com/opinions/>
Fun  <http://www.indiavarta.com/funtime/> Time
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Edits & Opinions
First
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=f&Title=First+Editorial>
Editorial
Second
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=j&Title=Second+Editorial>
Editorial
Main
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=m&Title=Main+Article>
Article
Second
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=2&Title=Second+Article>
Article
Time Out
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=5&Title=Time+Out>
Columns <http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayheadlines.asp?page=c>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Classifieds
Matrimonials <http://www.indiavarta.com/matrimonial/>
Careers <http://www.indiavarta.com/careers/>
Tenders <http://www.indiavarta.com/tenders/>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Place a classified
In our newspapers <http://www.indiavarta.com/Advertise/epmlAdvt.asp>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Services
Southern  <http://www.indiavarta.com/southernkitchen/> Kitchen
Study Abroad <http://www.indiavarta.com/studyabroad/>
Paid letter service
<http://www.indiavarta.com/services/paidletter/index.asp?lang=New>
Prashnas <http://www.indiavarta.com/astrology/Viswanath/>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Religion
Spirituality
<http://www.newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=7&Title=Spirituality+%26+
Prosperity> & Prosperity
Tirupati <http://www.indiavarta.com/religion/balaji/>
Sabarimala <http://www.indiavarta.com/religion/sabarimala/>
Kanchipuram <javascript:Open('Kanchipuram')>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Youth
E-Pals <http://www.indiavarta.com/lovezone/epals/>
E-Kiss <http://www.indiavarta.com/lovezone/ekiss/>
Loveline <http://www.indiavarta.com/lovezone/loveline/>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Your Pages
Send your  <http://www.indiavarta.com/opinions/send.asp> views
Between U and Us <http://www.indiavarta.com/guestbook/>
   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF> Stock Quote



Type first 3 alphabets

   <http://www.newindpress.com/newImages/line.GIF>


Your Verdict

Do you think that Saddam Hussein has been injured?

Yes
No
Can't Say



  <javascript:resultPoll()> Current Results



   SOUTHERN NEWS - KARNATAKA

March 24, 2003


Golden Quadrilateral in Karnataka to open in December

BANGALORE: Come December, cruising down National Highway 4 at high
speeds, without worrying about oncoming vehicles, will be a dream come
true.

Prime Minister's four-lane Golden Quadrilateral NH project is slowly
taking shape in Karnataka, except for a minor 64-km hitch between Haveri
and Hubli.

Otherwise, the 592 km of the Golden Quadrilateral that passes through
the State connecting Chennai, Bangalore and Pune would be completed by
December, a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official here
told the newspaper of this website.

``The project is on schedule. We are confident it will be thrown open
for traffic by the end of the year. Only the rest areas for parking
trucks will come up a little later. At present, we are concentrating on
four-laning the entire stretch,'' he said.

The project has very few land acquisition problems and virtually no
bottlenecks.

``There is a delay in only the 64-km, Haveri-Hubli section as
AFCONS-APIL, a joint venture company undertaking the project, has been
bought by a hotel chain. Following this development, work has come to a
standstill.''

However, the Centre is keen to remove the hurdles. Last week, Union
Minister for Surface Transport B.C. Khanduri held a meeting in Chennai
and instructed NHAI officials to hold a final meeting with the group in
the next few days to find out whether it is interested in continuing or
not.

This stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral has several features that are a
first of its kind. Apart from two new kinds of BOT (build, operate and
transfer) projects, the road in some sections are being concretised.

``Two lanes of the four-lane highway between Belgaum city and the
Maharashtra border are being concretised. Rigid concrete pavements like
these are maintenance-free for even 10 years. The same is being done
between Dharwad and Belgaum too,'' he added.

The State's component has been divided into several projects. The NHAI
has funded the following stretches. Tumkur-Sira (41 km), Sira bypass (6
km), Sira-Chitradurga (66 km), Chitradurga section (18 km),
Chitradurga-Harihar (77 km), Harihar-Haveri (56 km), Haveri-Hubli (64
km), Dharwad-Belgaum (62 km), and Belgaum bypass (20 km). Of this, the
Tumkur-Haveri, 264-km section is being funded by an Asian Development
Bank loan.

There are also two unique BOT projects here. The Nelamangala-Tumkur
stretch taken up by the JAS Toll Road Company is a special vehicle
project (SVP) taken up by the Jaiswal group of industries.

This is a model concessional agreement that will be followed for such
projects henceforth. It's a 19-year agreement where the company will
collect toll between 29.5 to 62 km on NH 4.

The NHAI has left an option open to make it a six-lane highway in future
due to the heavy traffic on the 70-km stretch between Bangalore and
Tumkur.

The second BOT is the Belgaum-Maharashtra border stretch. This is a BOT
annuity scheme taken up by the North-Karnataka Expressway Private Ltd.,
a joint venture that includes Punj Lloyd, INFS and CTNL.

This consortium has been given a seventeen-and-a-half-year concession
that includes two-and-a-half-year construction period.

The toll on this 77-km highway will be collected by NHAI and the company
will be paid bi-annually.

The Ministry is also interested in four-laning the existing two-lane
Hubli-Dharwad bypass.

The 29-km project is a BOT project completed by Nandi Engineering and
Infrastructure Ltd. The Ministry wants to make it a four-lane NH as part
of the Golden Quadrilateral.



<javaScript:sendStory('http://www.newindpress.com/send/index.asp?id=IEK2
0030323125514');> Send this Story to your friend



Send your views on this news report

Title/Headline  	 Your name:
City:  	 Your e-mail:
Address:
(Optional)  	 This is my opinion:








  <http://www.indiavarta.com/Shopping/Books/Tamil/> Click here
  <http://www.indiavarta.com/shopping/fruits/> Order a box of
12 handpicked
Alphonso Mangoes

  <http://www.indiavarta.com/shopping/toyland/> Buy soft toys
for INR 129 onwards


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323152742&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> 'Modern society promises
opportunities for women'


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323152003&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Minister asks representatives
to utilise opportunity to serve society


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323151330&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Training programme organised


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323023814&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> State budget hailed as
development-oriented


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323025610&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> HAL's IJT takes off


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323025503&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Unruly scenes at BCC Budget
meet


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323025424&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> These teachers are simply
unstoppable...


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323025330&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Private transporters get a
boost


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323023721&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Frankfurt Corp woos IT, BT
companies


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323023603&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> New lanes to be added to
Bangalore-Mysore State highway


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030322111612&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Anti-war protesters `execute'
Bush effigy


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323023347&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Keep laughing and live happily
for ever


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030322132748&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Varsities should strive to
educate new generation: Minister


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030323025846&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Defaulters warned of water
disconnection


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030322111708&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Govt thinking of strengthening
Coastal Security Force: Kharge


<http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030322111411&Page=K&Ti
tle=Southern+News+%2D+Karnataka&rLink=0> Kharge calls for unity to
promote social justice



Indiavarta <http://www.indiavarta.com/>  - Dinamani
<http://www.dinamani.com/>  - Andhra Prabha
<http://www.andhraprabha.com/>  - Kannada
<http://www.kannadaprabha.com/> Prabha - Malayalam
<http://www.malayalamvarikha.com/> Varikha - AP Weekly
<http://www.apweekly.com/>  - Cinema Express
<http://www.cinemaexpress.com/>  - Tamilan
<http://www.tamilanexpress.com/> Express

This site is managed by Express Network Private Ltd.
No part of this site should be used in any other media without prior
permission.
e-mail: info@... <http://www.newindpress.com/mail/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My experience of a short drive on the Golden
Quadrilateral.

Back in the end of 2001, I drove down from Delhi to
Neemrana, about half-way to Jaipur, keen to try out
this new road that people had been talking about. I
had my '98 Matiz. Once I had crossed Gurgaon, the road
seemed to open up, but not the kind where I could go
full throttle. But once I crossed Manesar, I could
begin to see why the new road was so much better than
before.

Sharp curves had shiny arrow signs which warned me in
advance. The tarmac was smooth, enough to make the
interiors of the car comfortable enough for speaking
without having to raise your voice, a HUGE factor in
long trips.  Signs, although not plentiful, were still
much better than you would find elsewhere. I wished
that before a major cut in the divider came up, there
would be a sign which would mention - "Divider - 2 kms
ahead". That way I could start signalling in advance
and warn people behind me that I was going to slow
down. That's what makes roads safer - better
co-ordination between drivers.

I did not end up going to the Kotputli-Amer section
where the NHAI has now put up their Highway Traffic
Management System, with call boxes every two
kilometers. Wonder if anyone here has driven along
that stretch and if the signage has had recent changes
all along this highway.

For the record, I was with my wife and had to stay
content with driving at 85 kmph, very few bumps along
the way. The one problem I had was while returning,
when it was dark. The lack of thick plant growth in
the center divider meant that lights from the other
side of the road were still bothersome, and made it
difficult to see if there was a bicycle or person
going on the soft shoulder on my side of the road.
Reason to stay in the center of the road !

Overall experience - highly satisfactory. In a couple
of years, I plan to drive all the way from Delhi to
Bombay, just me and some guy friends !

Sameer

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!
http://platinum.yahoo.com

From Yahoo News.



Title: Zooming on India's dream corridors of connectivity
Author: Chitra Narayanan
Publication: Yahoo News
Date: June 16, 2002
URL: http://in.news.yahoo.com/020616/43/1q3sp.html

New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Five centuries ago when Emperor Sher Shah Suri
built a 1,925 km road from Amritsar to Kolkata, the Grand Trunk Road
made history.

Many odes were written to the road and many a book devoted pages to this
historical highway, connecting two corners of India.

The British came and continued with road development in India, but once
they left, the narrow dusty Indian roads have been associated more with
potholes and cows blocking traffic.

Now comes another golden era of road development.

Take a drive from New Delhi to Jaipur, and the notorious image of
India's roads will go out of the window. On the superfast six-lane way,
there's an 86-km stretch in between where emergency call boxes are
placed every two km away.

If a car breaks down, all one has to do is walk up to the call box,
press the buttons as indicated, and within minutes, a crane arrives with
a mechanic to repair the car.

This is the fancy highway traffic management system (HTMS), a pilot
project of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is
implementing the road development project.

Executed by Siemens for Rs.175 million, the HTMS works through fibre
optic cables laid on either side of the road, which relay information to
a central control room.

Here operators sit in front of television sets, monitoring all kinds of
data -- roadblocks ahead, car breakdowns, medical emergencies, weather
reports, etc.

This information, in turn, is relayed to the passenger travelling on the
road via huge electronic boards placed at strategic points on the
highway. The HTMS, in operation here for the last six months, has
already bailed out many a stranded passenger on the highway, and will
soon be replicated in other parts of the country.

Four years ago, on October 24, 1998, when Indian Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee unveiled his vision of transforming India's dusty
rickety roads into modern superhighways, there were many sceptics.

But already bits and pieces of Vajpayee's asphalt dream can be seen on
the road.

The Jaipur-New Delhi stretch is a concrete treat, so are the Mumbai-Pune
and the New Delhi-Agra highways. In all the NHAI has already finished
modernising 1,074 km.

When the first phase of the National Highway Development Project - the
Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) -- gets completed in early 2004, the roadscape
of the country will be altered dramatically.

Modernised four-to-six lane superhighways will connect the four metros
of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. And by 2007, as the
north-south and east-west corridors take shape, the length and breadth
of the country, stretching from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and from Silchar
to Porbunder, will be connected by a modern corridor, bundled with
hi-tech services.

Simultaneously, 10 major ports in the country will be connected to this
arterial network, making freight movement in the country an easy
experience. In all, the NHDP will develop and modernise a staggering
13,151 km of road at an estimated cost of Rs.540 billion.

Said Minister for Road and Transport B.C. Khanduri: "This is one project
where the funding was tied up right at the start. The Rs.540 billion is
tied up like this -- Rs.200 billion from external loans from World Bank,
ADB, etc; Rs.200 billion from a one-rupee cess each on diesel and
petrol, imposed in 1999 for road development. Then NHAI will arrange
Rs.100 billion from market borrowings, and Rs.40 billion is expected to
come from private entrepreneurs."

According to NHAI chairman Deepak Dasgupta, of the 5,846 km of the
Golden Quadrilateral, about 1,074 km are already completed, and 4,690 km
area under implementation.

Only about 80 odd km of the Allahabad bypass is left, for which too the
contracts have been handed out. And efforts are already on to tie up the
funding of the second phase - the corridors - of the project.

And NHAI does not intend to stop at mere road building. Now NHAI talks
in terms like corridor management.

Explains Mukesh Kacker, an NHAI member (private investment, corridor
management): "All those things that come into play when a road is
completed is called corridor management." This includes greening the
road, bundling hi-tech services like the HTMS.

According to World Bank estimates, once the Golden Quadrilateral phase
is completed, it will give the country savings of Rs.80 billion per
year, in terms of diesel and petrol savings, wear and tear and faster
transportation.

With the asphalt vision taking concrete shape, very soon, Indians can
look forward to travelling on modern corridors of connectivity.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Following is an excerpt from an interview given by the NHAI chairman
Deepak Dasgupta in April of 2002 to indiainfoline.com. For the full
text, go to the link at the bottom of the post.

x------------x

What is the corridor management approach which NHAI has been talking
about?

This is an approach based on the concept of highways as a service.
On a pilot basis, an advanced highway traffic management system
(HTMS) has already been put in place on the 86 km stretch from
Kotputli to Amer on NH8. The system has a central control room,
which is the nerve centre of the HTMS. Connected to this are optical
fibre transmission systems, emergency call box systems (cranes,
ambulances and highway patrol), variable message signs and a close-
circuit TV surveillance (CCTV) system.

Travelers will be informed about any traffic hold-ups through the
variable messaging sign system mounted electronically at suitable
distances. All these would be given to private companies for
management. NHAI wants road users to feel that roads are a service,
and in turn, they must be willing to pay for the service.

x-----------x

http://www.indiainfoline.com/view/230402.html

A pune based guy named Amit Kulkarni took some great pics while
driving down the expressway. His images are copyrighted and are
large to download but make for throughly enjoyable viewing. Here's
the link -

http://www.amitkulkarni.com/pics/expressway/

Sameer

At last the Government of India has decided to put roads on the top
of their priority agenda. The result is the NHDP, consisting of
almost 14,000 kilometers of 4 laned highways. Following is an
excerpt from the NHAI's (National Highways Association of India )
web site ( www.nhai.org )

A MAJOR INITIATIVE FOR CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT OF THE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

As National Highways comprise about 2% of the total road length in
the country and yet carryover 40% of total traffic, the first and
the foremost task mandated to the NHAI is the implementation of NHDP-
  comprising of the Golden Quadrilateral and North-South & East-West
Corridors. In addition to the projects under NHDP, the NHAI is also
currently responsible for about 1 ,000 km of Highways connecting
major Ports & also on National Highways 8A, 24, 6, 45 & 27. Highways
length with NHAI currently is around 14,162 km.
The main components of NHDP include:

(a) Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)
Length :- 5846 km
Connecting Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai



Scheduled for substantial completion by 2003
(earlier it was 2004).
  (b) North-South & East-West Corridors
Length :- 7,300 km
Kashmir to Kanyakumari -4000 km (with a spur to Cochin) and Silchar
to Porbandar- 3300 km.


Scheduled for completion by 2007
(earlier it was 2009).

Total length of NS & EW Corridors has been taken around 7,300 km.
Alignment finalization is in progress.