Development Report- Infrastructure
Infrastructure-1
Mammoth Infrastructure development is the biggest achievement of Shri Narendra Modi led Government in last 7 years. Shri Narendra Modi once said “Infrastructure is much more than cement and concrete. Infrastructure guarantees a better future. Infrastructure connects people”. He had made developments in Infrastructure which were never imagined before. Senior journalist Shri Shekhar Gupta known critic of Modi policies, has also admitted this fact.
– Shri Shekhar Gupta writes – “The big takeaway from all these inaugurations and visits is — infrastructure”. “So, the Modi government is making infrastructure construction building a very central part of its politics,” Gupta said. ( Source- https://theprint.in/opinion/3-pillars-of-modis-success-infrastructure-welfare-testosterone-driven-nationalism/608661/)
– In an article titled “How Modi govt is building a new landscape in Old India” T. N. Ninan writes “Modi govt has taken the powerful combination of infrastructure investment and welfarism to their current levels of ambition.” ( Source-https://theprint.in/opinion/how-modi-govt-is-building-a-new-landscape-in-old-india/620968/)
Here are some details about developments made in Infrastructure Sector in last 7 years.
1) Highways & Expressways
– Bharatmala Pariyojana: ( Source- https://morth.nic.in/bharatmala-phase) This project envisages development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which along with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors are expected to carry majority of the Freight Traffic on roads. Further, 8,000 km of Inter Corridors and 7,500 km of Feeder Routes for improving effectiveness of Economic, GQ and NS-EW Corridors. The programme envisages development of Ring Roads / bypasses and elevated corridors near cities. Further 35 locations have been identified for development of Multimodal Logistics Parks.
The Bharatmala is approved for estimated cost of Rs. 6,92,324 crore including other ongoing schemes. It is to be funded from Cess (Rs. 2,37,024 crore) collected form Petrol & Diesel (as per Central Road & Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000 ), amount collected from toll (Rs. 46,048 crore) apart from additional budgetary support (Rs. 59,973 crore), Expected monetisation of NHs through TOT (Toll-Operate-Transfer) (Rs. 34,000 crore), Internal & Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) (Rs. 2,09,279 crore ) and Private Sector Investment (Rs. 1,06,000 crore) as per Financing Plan up to 2021-22.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that National Highways Construction has seen sharp rise during the Covid restriction period. In a tweet he said in 2020-21 Highway construction has paced to 36.5 KM/day the highest ever construction speed of National Highways. The Minister said India has also created world record by constructing 2.5 km 4 lane concrete road in just 24 hours and 26 km single lane Bitumen road in just 21 hours.
– Setu Bharatam project: ( Source- https://morth.nic.in/setu-bharatam ) This project aims to construct Rail Over Bridges ( ROB) or Rail Under Bridges ( RUB) on all important railway
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crossings on major highways by 2019. Under the project, initially all such railway crossings were to be replaced by ROB/RUBs by 2019 at an estimated cost of Rs 20,800 crore. As per report available on official web site of Indian Railways by March 2019 total 309 bridges were completed and 90 bridges were sanctioned and 24 were led to execution. ( Source-http://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/B%26S/2019/8.pdf).
– The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY): a central sector scheme of the Government of India, was launched on 21st January 2015 with the aim of bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive manner & with the objective of preserving the heritage character of the City. Under the Scheme, twelve cities have been identified for development. The mission period of HRIDAY scheme ended on 31st March, 2019. 20 projects of worth Rs. 140.14 crores were completed in 2018 —cities include Varanasi, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar and Dwarka.
2) Some Important Highway Infra Projects
– Eastern Peripheral Expressway: It is a 135-km stretch that is India’s first highway lit by solar power. It was inaugurated on 27 May 2018 by Prime Minister Modi. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 11,000 crore and was completed in 17 months. It was meant to reroute the traffic from Delhi to the other nearby states. Almost 10,000 trucks have begun using it, thereby reducing the traffic in Delhi. ( Source- https://realtymyths.com/top-10-infrastructure-project-by-modi-government/)
– Chenani-Nashri Tunnel: The ‘Chenani-Nashri Highway Tunnel in Jammu Kashmir is not only India’s longest highway tunnel but also Asia’s longest bi-directional highway tunnel. The tunnel is 9 km long officially making it the longest road tunnel in India. It is a two-lane main tunnel with a parallel escape tunnel of the same length located at an elevation of 1200 meters. It is located in the lower Himalayan mountain range, between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir. The 9.28 km long ‘Chenani-Nashri Tunnel,’ built at the cost of ₹2,500 crore, was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister in Chenani in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. This was an incomplete project of UPA period. Modi Government started the remaining work. The tunnel was inaugurated on 2nd April 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is the longest in India with a length of 9.28 km.
– Delhi Meerut Expressway- Most wide express way of our Country having 14 lanes. It is known as National Expressway No.3. In 4 stages Dilli Nijamuddin Bridge to U P Delhi border length 8.72 K.M. Foundation stone laid by Modi 1n Dec.2015. and this stge was inaugurated by Shri Modi on 27 May 2018. Package 2 U P Border to Dasana having length of 19.28 K M. Completed in April 2021. Package 3 is from Dasna to Hapur having length of 22.23 K M.Completed in September 2019. Package 4 Dasna to Partapur 32 K M. Completed in April 2021. Total length 82 K Mwith total cost of 8346 Crorers
– Thiruvantpuram Bypass- This bypass on the Mumbai to Kanyakumari National Highway No. NH 66 is of 26.5 K.M. Length. National Highway 66 is a 4 lane 1,608 km long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to the Western Ghats. It connects Panvel to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari),passing
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through the states of MaharashtraGoa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.It was completed in Ocotber 2020.Total expenses made for this Bypass are Rs. 1121 Crores.
– Rohana-Hasangarh to Jajhhar Highway- This is part of Four lane Highway N.H. 334-B which goes from UP Haryana border to Jajhhar in Haryana. This is Package II of N.H.334-b. It has the total Length 35.45 K.M. It was opened by Shri Nitin Gadkari in July 2020. Total cost of this Highway is at Rs.718 Crores.
– Vijaywada- Machalipatnam Highway– This Section is part of 4 lane National Highway N.H.65. It starts at Pune and ends at Machilipatnam. Modi Government has planned a greenfield port at Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and this NH 65 is important to connect the port to western part of the country. This Section of NH 65 was started by Modi Govt. in November 2016 and completed on time in Nov.2019. It is 64.611 K.M. in [Length. The Total cost of the project is Rs.1470 Crores.
– Kadappa Karnool Highway– The project was taken up by UPA Govt. under BOT mode in 2010. However, the project came to a grinding halt in 2013 when it was scheduled to be completed as banks stopped disbursing funds & concessionaire failed to bring in extra equity. The project was expected to be completed by May 12, 2013. When Modi Govt. announced Prime Minister’s Pro-Active Governance for Active and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) the four-laning of this Kadapa-Kurnool Highway a part of NH-40 of 188.95 K.M was revived in 2016 and was completed in 2019 with an investment of Rs.2075 crores.
– Planned Expressways-Another key component of the Bharat Mala Pariyojana program is the development of 22 green field expressways and access-controlled corridors of over 7,900 km at the cost of Rs.3.3lakh crore. ( Source-https://nhai.gov.in/#/bharatmala-pariyojana )