₹5.35 lakh crore for new road project:

₹5.35 lakh crore for new road project:

Context:

• The Centre announced road construction, called BharatMala Pariyojana, in a bid to encourage the economy as private investment remains moribund.

What is the Bharatmala project?

• Bharatmala is a name given to road and highways project of Government of India.
• The total investment for the Bharatmala plan is estimated at Rs10 trillion, which is the largest ever outlay for a government road construction scheme.
• Under Bharatmala, the road ministry also plans to undertake a network of economic corridors in the country and a detailed project report on these has already been prepared by the global consultancy firm AT Kearney.
• AT Kearney has identified 44 economic corridors for development by the road ministry and these include Mumbai-Cochin-Kanyakumari, Bengaluru-Mangaluru, Hyderabad-Panaji and Sambalpur-Ranchi. These economic corridors plan to open up India’s hinterland to development

Key features:

• Bharat Mala will connect a total of 12 states.
• The BharatMala project will include economic corridors, inter-corridor and feeder route, national corridors efficiency improvement , border roads and international connectivity, coastal roads and port connectivity and green-field expressways.
• It will provide road connectivity to border regions in a structured way.
• Expertise of BRO/Border Roads Organisation will be taken for rougher terrains.
• Bharat Mala will provide easier access to border areas for armed forces and boost trade via the land route.
• Bharatmala will replace National Highways Development Project (NHDP) launched in 1998 by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the scheme is expected to be completed by this year with just 10,000km of highway construction left under it.

What are the problems with road and transportation of India?

• National Highways: The National Highways suffer from the deficiencies of inadequate capacity, weak pavement, poor riding quality, distressed bridges, unabridged level cross¬ings, congested cities (lack of by-pass roads), lack of wayside amenities and safety measure
• Mixing of traffic: One major problem on the Indian roads is the mixing of traffic.
• This in¬creases traffic time, congestion and pollution and road accidents.
• Participation of private sector: There is very little participation of private sector in road development in India because of long gestation period and low-returns.
• Private investment: The legislative framework for private investment in roads is not satisfactory.
• In stability in policy: There has been no stability in policy relat¬ing to highway development in the country. It has changed with the change of government.
• Shortage of funds: There is shortage of funds for the construction and maintenance of roads.