Delays in projects unacceptable, adhere strictly to project schedules: Gadkari to officials

Terming delays in highway projects as "unacceptable", Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday asked officials and developers to strictly adhere to project schedules.

Gadkari also launched online web portal 'GATI' on the pattern of 'PRAGATI', the portal used by the Prime Ministers' Officer for monitoring projects.

"Delays in projects are unacceptable. Adhere strictly to project schedules," Gadkari told officials and developers, while reviewing Rs 3-lakh crore projects, including delayed ones.

Any inter-ministerial issue holding up a project may be brought to the notice of the ministry for intervention to expedite resolution, Gadkari said.

Projects from southern and central zones, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Telangana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, were on review on Thursday.

A total of 500 highway projects worth Rs 3 lakh crore are being taken up for review on Thursday and Friday with a view to fast-track them.

Gadkari, along with Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh, launched online web portal 'GATI', which has been created by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the lines of PRAGATI.

An official said "Gadkari will also personally monitor the projects".

The portal 'GATI' can be accessed from NHAI's website, and contractors and concessionaires can raise any project-related issues on the platform, according to a statement by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

"The issue will immediately come to the notice of everyone...HQ NHAI including top management, and immediate action will be taken by the concerned officer duly updating on the portal," it said.

The issues raised on 'GATI' will be daily monitored by a team of NHAI officers and will be constantly reviewed by the senior officers of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the statement said.

This will bring transparency and speed up the decision making in highway construction, it added.

All developers, contractors and officers of NHAI are linked to the portal and it will help sharing of all project-related information for speedy implementation.

The projects from northeastern states, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Haryana, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will be reviewed Friday.

The issues related to projects in northeastern states and under National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd have already been reviewed in a separate meeting held on January 7.