Transport Policy
Efficient transportation is indispensable to economic progress. Mining, manufacturing, trade and banking, and agriculture are also necessary, but these activities, like many others, depend upon transportation. Without adequate facilities for moving goods and people from place to place, economic and social activities can be carried on in a limited way only. Using a mobility index that combines available data on transport facilities and the movement of passengers and freight, Wilfred Owen finds out that immobility and poverty go together. The countries with low per capita GNP had a mobility index for freight and passenger transport in single digits, whereas this index was significantly high in countries with high per capita income. Indeed, a more recent study finds out that every one per cent growth in the Indian economy presumes a growth of 1.2 to 1.4 per cent in the transport sector.
Transportation performs many social and political functions:
Transportation raises the standard of living, making possible improved housing, clothing, food and recreation. Transportation helps break the barrier of isolation by promoting social interaction and thus promotes culture and intelligence, especially in a country of the size and population of India. Transportation promotes national unity in that it promotes homogeneity among the people. Another reason is that it creates a need for political unity, by making the different parts of the country economically interdependent. Transportation helps in the strengthening of national defence. It is an important agency that helps in the mobilisation of the entire resources of a country in the event of war. In short, transportation as a sector has widespread significance. It determines and sets the pace of growth in other sectors of the economy. It is a part of the infrastructure required for economic growth; if the infrastructure is weak, the economy can only grow at a slow pace. Transportation as a sector has the Railways, Road, Inland Water Transport, Shipping and Air transport within its ambit.
Roads: India has emerged with the second largest road network in the world with a total network of 3.3 million km. The US tops the list with a road network of 6.4 million km. Currently, China has a road network of over 1.8 million km only. Roads occupy a crucial position in the transportation matrix of India as they carry nearly 65 per cent of freight and 85 per cent of passenger traffic. Highway spending is likely to be a key component of India’s goal of sustained annual GDP growth of 8 per cent over the next decade.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is strengthening and widening national highways ( NHS) in multiple phases as part of the National Highways Development Programme ( NHDP). Under the programme, Phase I includes the development of the golden quadrilateral connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and Phase II includes the development of the North-South and East-West links running from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar respectively of the NHS. The Phases I and ar implementation.
The first phase of NHDP has fallen way behind schedule, having”, having missed even the extended deadline of December 2004; the original deadline was December 2000. Phase I. what was earlier called Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana, entails Upgrauss of existing NHS. two-laning of important roads and expansion of the crowded NHS LO.
This phase would include widening of 71 stretches aggregating to 10,417 km of road w c . have already been identified based on traffic density, connectivity of state capitals with masa I and II and links to places of commercial and tourist importance.
Preparation of Delance Project Report for Phase III has already begun. The government is planning to fund through a mix of budgetary support and external assistance, but the exact funding mechanism is yet to be finalized. It is proposed that the centre will provide capital grants up to 40 of the project cost to enhance viability on a case by case basis and it will fund the entire cost 101 consultancy and land acquisition.
The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has announced four more phases of the NHDP which are planned to be completed by 2012. The ministry has suggested that all the projects included in NHDP III to VII now be implemented using build, own, and transfer (BOT) contracts. The government has cleared 4 to 6 laning of 4000 km of National Highways under Phase III and has in-principle approved 4 to 6 laning of additional 6000 km under NHDP Phase.
The slow progress of the NHDP Phase I attracted the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAC). The CAC has criticized the NHAI, for completing only 1846 km stretches, out of. the target 6359 km of national highways by June 2004. In its report, it said that the overall performance of NHAI in terms of output in NHDP phase 1 (Golden Quadrilateral) was only 29 per cent. The report has pointed out there was no corporate plan to implement such a large project. Deficient planning and inefficient contract management by the design and project consultants contributed to the underperformance (GOI 2005c).
While the centre has imposed an additional cess of 50 paise for the development of national highways, 34.16 per cent of the central road fund (CRF), amounting to Rs 1535 crore allotted to states and union territories is still lying unspent. Nearly 30 per cent of the CRF, collected through a cess of Rs 1.50 on petrol and diesel, goes to states. About 60 per cent is used for building national highways and the rest for rail over-bridges. States have not come forward with enough proposals on road development. The amount released to state governments is based on the progress in various projects.
Check out these notes on National Road Transport Policy.