03-10-2008, 04:40 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Connectivity at snail's pace: Golden Quadrilateral not before 2009 </b>
Pionner.com
Nidhi Sharma | New Delhi
Golden Quadrilateral, conceptualised in 1998 the ambitious project of connecting all four metros with four-lane highways, is unlikely to be completed before 2009 -- six years beyond the original deadline set by the Government. Â
Eight years after work was started on the 5,846-km network, there is no end in sight as several contracts have not yet been awarded.
The original deadline of completion for Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) was December 2003, which was revised to December 2004. However, it was later revised to December 2005 because of problems in land acquisition and non-cooperation by States. Even after revision of successive missed deadlines, the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways had expected to complete all work on GQ by end of 2007. The Ministry had later promised that the pending work would be completed in the first quarter of 2008-09 fiscal. However, even this seems impossible as several contracts are not awarded and the work is likely to spill over to 2009.
Latest statistics given by the Ministry during reviews conducted by Principal Secretary, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and committee of secretaries reveal that 196 km of GQ is still incomplete. This length has been broken into 25 contracts, of which 15 are expected to be completed by June this year. There are, however, 10 contracts or 156 km that would be completed much after June.
According to sources, there are three contracts that have still not been awarded. These include 77-km Harihar-Chitradurga in Karnataka, 56-km Haveri-Harihar in Karnataka and 62.64 km Balasore-Bhadrak stretch in Orissa. Work on these stretches has been left mid-way, as the contracts have been terminated.
However, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been unable to award these contracts. The result is that there is no estimate as to when work would be completed on these stretches.
There are five contracts that will be terminated because of slow pace of work. Orissa's 55.173-km long Sunakhala-Ganjam stretch is not even 50 per cent complete. Though the original deadline for completion was April 2004, the project will only been completed by December 2009 -- over five years after the target. Even this deadline could be revised because the contract is now likely to be terminated.
Another case in point is 76-km Varanasi-Mohania stretch. The original date of completion was March 2005 and it is now unlikely to meet its revised deadline of this month. The 13-km Tumkur bypass in Karnataka, which had to be completed in December 2003, has a June 2008 deadline. However, only 9.7 km have been completed yet. The NHAI has moved to rescind the contract due to slow progress.
Though Gorhar-Barwar Adda stretch in Jharkhand is 91 per cent complete, the contract will be terminated because of the slow progress. The stretch was to be completed in March 2005 but would now be completed only by September this year or even later.
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Another greatest achievement of Moron SIngh and Queen Sonia. <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Pionner.com
Nidhi Sharma | New Delhi
Golden Quadrilateral, conceptualised in 1998 the ambitious project of connecting all four metros with four-lane highways, is unlikely to be completed before 2009 -- six years beyond the original deadline set by the Government. Â
Eight years after work was started on the 5,846-km network, there is no end in sight as several contracts have not yet been awarded.
The original deadline of completion for Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) was December 2003, which was revised to December 2004. However, it was later revised to December 2005 because of problems in land acquisition and non-cooperation by States. Even after revision of successive missed deadlines, the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways had expected to complete all work on GQ by end of 2007. The Ministry had later promised that the pending work would be completed in the first quarter of 2008-09 fiscal. However, even this seems impossible as several contracts are not awarded and the work is likely to spill over to 2009.
Latest statistics given by the Ministry during reviews conducted by Principal Secretary, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and committee of secretaries reveal that 196 km of GQ is still incomplete. This length has been broken into 25 contracts, of which 15 are expected to be completed by June this year. There are, however, 10 contracts or 156 km that would be completed much after June.
According to sources, there are three contracts that have still not been awarded. These include 77-km Harihar-Chitradurga in Karnataka, 56-km Haveri-Harihar in Karnataka and 62.64 km Balasore-Bhadrak stretch in Orissa. Work on these stretches has been left mid-way, as the contracts have been terminated.
However, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been unable to award these contracts. The result is that there is no estimate as to when work would be completed on these stretches.
There are five contracts that will be terminated because of slow pace of work. Orissa's 55.173-km long Sunakhala-Ganjam stretch is not even 50 per cent complete. Though the original deadline for completion was April 2004, the project will only been completed by December 2009 -- over five years after the target. Even this deadline could be revised because the contract is now likely to be terminated.
Another case in point is 76-km Varanasi-Mohania stretch. The original date of completion was March 2005 and it is now unlikely to meet its revised deadline of this month. The 13-km Tumkur bypass in Karnataka, which had to be completed in December 2003, has a June 2008 deadline. However, only 9.7 km have been completed yet. The NHAI has moved to rescind the contract due to slow progress.
Though Gorhar-Barwar Adda stretch in Jharkhand is 91 per cent complete, the contract will be terminated because of the slow progress. The stretch was to be completed in March 2005 but would now be completed only by September this year or even later.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Another greatest achievement of Moron SIngh and Queen Sonia. <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->