PROBLEMS AFFECTING IMPLEMENTATION OF GOLDEN QUADRILATERAL PROJECT
Rajya
Sabha
The target for completion
of Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is December, 2004. More than 85%
contracts are likely to be completed before this date. With the
incentives provided for early completion, it is expected that
all the contracts on GQ will be completed by this date, except
for the work on 136 km which has been held up due to alignment
problem/litigations.
Details of problems
being faced and the steps being taken to solve the problems are
given below :
- Land Acquisition :
Various legal/procedural
requirements which are required to be completed before acquisition
of land are delaying the progress. There are large number of
structures, removal of which is also a time taking exercise.
- Removal of utilities :
To enable the contractors
to take up construction of the road, the land has to be made
free of all encumbrances including utilities like water pipelines,
electric poles, etc. Shifting of such utilities can be taken
up only after the land is acquired, cleared of structures and
made available to the contractor.
- Environmental/Forest clearance
:
Environmental clearance
(including forest clearance in respect of land recorded as forest)
has to be obtained. Many of the stretches also have trees and
obtaining permission of cutting of trees is also a time taking
exercise.
- Quarries :
Contractors are finding
it difficult in some States to obtain permission for quarrying
for aggregates and this also delaying the progress of work in
some packages.
(v) Law and
Order :
Law and order
problems created by anti-social elements are also hindering the
work in some States. In some places the local people are preventing
the construction work demanding change of alignment or additional
facilities or higher compensation for the land acquired.
Steps taken to
solve the problems :
In order
to resolve the problems, the issues are taken up with the concerned
State Governments at various levels. Besides, these matters are
taken up by Minister for Road Transport and Highways with the
concerned Chief Minister to resolve the problems.
This information
was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Road
Transport and Highways, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) B.C. Khanduri in a written
reply to a question of Shri V.V. Raghavan and Shri J. Chitharanjan
in Rajya Sabha today.
