Government’s Road Projects
Road construction projects in the country operate in different ways. The most common method is EPC, i.e., engineering, procurement, and construction. In such projects, the government spends money, and the contractor does the engineering, procurement, and construction. In these projects, the contractor is responsible for any defects or deficiencies for only five years. After that, the responsibility for maintenance and repair falls on the government. Most road projects in the country are built on the EPC model. Union Minister Gadkari has acknowledged that the quality of EPC roads is not good. Now, the government is increasing the warranty period to ten years, which means the contractor will have to build high-quality roads.
Toll Roads Are Fine, Action Will Be Taken for Lack of Monitoring
Generally, the quality of toll roads is better than other roads. In these projects, the contractor is responsible for the maintenance of the roads, but due to the lack of monitoring by government officials, these roads are not repaired even after they deteriorate. The public is forced to pay tolls despite using damaged roads. Sources have informed that the government is now preparing to increase monitoring, take action against contractors who do not follow quality and maintenance conditions, and blacklist them.
Main Causes of Accidents
In the country, apart from speeding, poor road design and engineering are also major causes of accidents. Every year, around 5 lakh road accidents occur in the country, and more than half of the victims are between 18-36 years old. In 2022, there were 4,61,312 road accidents in India, resulting in 1,68,491 deaths and 4,43,366 injuries. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of road accident fatalities increased by around 6.9%. In such a scenario, improving road quality to reduce accidents is a priority for the government. It is estimated that road accidents cause a loss of around 3% of the country’s GDP.
Gadkari Faces Criticism
In recent days, due to heavy rainfall, the condition of roads in villages, towns, and national highways has deteriorated. Even the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Jaipur-Delhi Highway were damaged. In some states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, there were instances where the road was damaged just days after its inauguration. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is popular for his efforts to improve road infrastructure, faced criticism for the poor condition of roads. Many memes were made about him on social media. Gadkari has expressed his displeasure over the laxity of contractors on several occasions, saying that they will create a world record for suspending and penalizing contractors who do not build good-quality roads.
