New Delhi: Four National Highway (NH) projects passing through Dhenkanal district in the State are targeted to be completed by March 2024.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today. Dhenkanal MP Mahesh Sahoo had asked the question to the Union Minister.
The four NH projects are delayed mainly due to delay in land acquisition, forest clearance and slow performance of contractors, he said.
As per the revised schedule, the target of completion of these projects is March, 2024. However, amount of cost escalation in these projects for delay in completion work has not been finalized, Gadkari said.
The Government is closely monitoring the construction of National Highways (NHs). Periodic reviews are held at various levels to resolve issues and to expedite progress of all NH projects. Delayed projects including Dhenkanal are also monitored, he said.
The Minister further informed that a time limit of 2-3 years is generally kept for completion of new NH projects.
However, construction works on NHs sometimes fall behind schedule due to various reasons like delay in land acquisition, delay in fulfillment of Government’s condition precedent like various clearances, utility shifting, delays on the part of contractors/concessionaires including cash flow issues etc., he added.