Betterment fee for roads in focus

Construction and road maintenance cost was bound to rise, and the Indian Roads Congress would discuss this, said Kshiti Goswami, minister-in-charge of the state public works department (PWD).

Goswami highlighted the need for the levy of a betterment fee for all existing and under construction highways.

No betterment fee was levied in states like West Bengal though toll tax was levied on national highways.

The new fee would help in maintenance of these highways, a major aspect of asset management.

Presently around 2-3 per cent of total project cost was alloted for maintenance cost, but it needed to be increased, claimed the minister.

Land acquisition had become a major hurdle in West Bengal, but the compensation package under the Highways Act needed revision in West Bengal for the specific reason that most of the land in West Bengal was multi-crop farm land and not single crop or semi-arid lands, as in many parts of the country.

The general compensation package applicable all over India was therefore not enough for land losers in bengal, he claimed.

In the case of West Bengal, the situation is not the same also because of the acute sensitivity of people towards land acquisition.

This situation needed to be examined and adequate compensation needed to be paid, claimed Goswami.

The state would like IRC to raise these issues and make possible recommendations in these two areas at its coming annual session, he added.

These were crucial in view of the recognized need to construct more roads and improve existing infrastructure.

The recommendations of IRC would be raised at its 69th session to be held in Kolkata from December 13, 2008.

According to Samiran Sen, vice-president of IRC, the betterment fee was important, since road maintenance was as important as new road construction.

There was also need for specific scientific maintenance modules for specific roads and highways, together with new technology, he added. Kolkata would be hosting the national roads meet after a period of eight years and the state government had alloted Rs 1.1 crore for it.

Around 2500 delegates from India and abroad would participate at the forum to create awareness about latest road, bridge and highway building technology and discuss local issues, like using latest machinery and international technology for construction and capacity building.