In a scathing criticism of the Maharashtra government, the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Brijeshwar Singh, has said that the state is nowhere as keen as its neighbour, Andhra Pradesh, to construct more national highways. He spoke to DNA on the sidelines of a NHAI meeting with investors in the city on Wednesday.
“The government is not enthusiastic about national highways and doesn’t plan for it. It seems to be more interested in protecting its state highways unit. They need to learn from Andhra which has drawn up clear plans for expansion,” Singh said.
Plans are afoot to build a national highway from Mumbai, Kalyan,
Nagar, Parbhani, Beed, upto Tulzapur, and another one from Wardha to Kolhapur. Another one has been proposed from Kolhapur to Belgaum and Goa.
The plan is to connect the north and south of the state. Other plans include NH3 and NH9, one connecting the north of the state to Madhya Pradesh, while the other will connect Sholapur to Hyderabad.
NHAI plans to award contracts for the construction of 34,000km of national highways in the next four years, and intends to raise Rs10,000 to Rs20,000 crore as borrowings from both the domestic and international markets.
One of the biggest challenges NHAI has been facing is land acquisition and getting highways sanctioned in forest areas. But with forward planning, these hurdles are being overcome, Singh said.
