235 critical road infrastructure projects shortlisted under GatiShakti

These would be for immediate execution and be overseen by MoRTH

The GatiShakti division of the government, headed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, has shortlisted 235 critical road infrastructure projects for immediate monitoring and execution.

These will be overseen by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) on a priority basis.

This development took place at a Prime Minister GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) review meeting held on November 16. The division, conceived amid the need for better infrastructure planning, looks mainly at critical connectivity projects in need of coordinated execution. 

The move assumes significance as MoRTH has previously been criticised for not acting expeditiously on road projects of other ministries.

In June, it was pulled up by the GatiShakti empowered group of secretaries for significant delays in port connectivity projects. The latest list also consists of 68 projects for the shipping ministry.

“These action items would be reviewed internally in the ministry and also at the level of secretary (road transport & highways) on a regular basis henceforth,” MoRTH said in a circular.

Goyal also sought immediate action on awarding many of these projects.

Implementing agencies of MoRTH, such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), have been asked to create a month-wise action plan for awarding of projects. It should be “with specific focus on maximising award by December 2022 and March 2023.”

For instance, 168 of the 235 projects have to be completed for the ministry of defence. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) typically takes up international connectivity and border infrastructure projects. 

The Centre also wants more compliance from infrastructure ministries on the usage of GatiShakti NMP digital platform for project updates and monitoring.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) is in the works for field officers and consultants for usage during finalisation of project reports.

Over 50,000 km of alignment for proposed road networks also has to be finalised by implementing agencies of the MoRTH.

As of December 2021, roads spanning 1,282 km have been awarded under the ministry’s flagship Bharatmala programme. However, actual construction stands at 1,120 km, according to data by MoRTH. The initial target for border road construction was 2,000 km.

The GatiShakti NMP has been formed to remove connectivity bottlenecks that have led to escalation in the cost of logistics. This often arose due to execution by the government in departmental silos.

The Centre wants to bring the cost of logistics down to 6-7 per cent of India’s GDP. This will make exports more competitive.