Government targets 85% timely completion of road projects

Anurag Jain, Road Transport and Highways Secretary, that approximately 85% of road projects are expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year. He attributed this progress to the government's efforts in ensuring faster clearances, improved monitoring, and swift resolution of issues.

Jain mentioned that the Road Ministry has been receiving environmental and forest clearances promptly, and mechanisms to monitor delayed projects have been enhanced. In an interview with PTI, he stated, "We treated timely completion of projects as a challenge.

For projects already facing delays, a revised schedule was set as the new target. I believe that by the end of this financial year (March), we will manage to complete around 85% of the projects on time." Jain highlighted the positive impact of various initiatives, stating, "PRAGATI meetings led by the Prime Minister, monitoring by the Cabinet Secretariat, the creation of the Integrated Project Monitoring portal, and the utilization of PM GatiShakti in planning have significantly enhanced the implementation speed of projects throughout their life cycle."

According to a report from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which oversees infrastructure projects valued at Rs 1.5 billion and above, the road transport and highways sector has the highest number of delayed projects. Furthermore, Jain revealed ongoing discussions between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and MoSPI aimed at standardising the definition of 'delayed projects'.