'Commuters face problems between Delhi-Punjab': Nitin Gadkari blames 113-day-long farmers' protest

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 18

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highway, on Thursday blamed the 113-day-long farmers’ protest at the Singhu Border for delays in the National Highway, connecting Delhi and Punjab.  

Responding to a question by Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh regarding the non-completion and delay in construction of flyovers and bridges, Gadkari reacted, saying that from Mukarba Chow to Panipat, the work of 14 flyovers is in different stages which could be completed by September 2021. 

“The construction progress is slow due to the farmers’ protest at Singh Border,” said Gadkari, adding that the work of the 6-lane on the Panipat-Jalandhar stretch is “substantially completed”. 

“However, there are few spots on NH, where traffic congestion takes places. The NHAI has broadly identified the spots, and procedure for appointment of a consultant to carry out a detailed study, and to prepare a technical proposal for improving the efficacy of the corridor has been started,” added Gadkari.

The Ludhiana MP “wanted to know whether the government was aware of the problems faced by the commuters due to regular heavy traffic congestion at several places on the National Highway, connecting Delhi and Punjab, mainly due to non-completion, and delay in construction of flyovers, bridges etc”.

Despite this, he also needed to know about the steps taken by the government to ensure the timely completion of all scheduled projects on the highway, which could enable smooth travelling for the commuters. 

Gadkari answered that for road construction, the work was being executed by different agencies of the ministry, and the e-tendering process is followed. 

“Moreover, MoRTH has devised Model Request for Proposal /Concession Agreements for a different type of modes of execution in which provisions of imposing a penalty for non-adherence to project deadlines have also been prescribed,” he added.