Mumbai-Goa national highway widening to be completed by March 2022

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informed the Bombay High Court that the widening work of the Mumbai-Goa national highway is likely to be completed by March 2022 if over Rs 200 crore is arranged by the lenders and the State Bank of India (SBI) soon. NHAI further said that the highway was in motorable condition before the monsoon. But due to heavy rains and traffic, some potholes, patches and water stagnation developed in some sections. It filed an affidavit before the Chief Justice, Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni, which has been hearing public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a resident of Konkan. He seeks directions for actions to be taken to fix the potholes on the NH-66, which is prone to accidents. In August, NHAI had filed an affidavit through its General Manager and Project Director, Prashant J Fegade, saying that the concessionaire and lenders of the project will have to arrange nearly Rs 267 crore more than the disbursed amount under the One Time Fund Infusion Scheme (OTFIS) to complete the highway project. However, the amount has not been infused by the lenders yet. Provisional completion, about 75% of the project is likely to be granted by 30 November this year, subject to availability of working season and fundings available by lenders, NHAI said. The high court will hear the PIL soon. Image Source Also read: NHAI to float tender for Delhi-Jaipur flyover by mid-September