Guwahati: As the Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH) is nearing completion, the Arunachal Pradesh government has started focusing on the execution of works on the Frontier Highway and Inter Connectivity Corridor projects, which were approved by the Centre recently.
This was informed by the officials of PWD and Highways to Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu in a review meeting held on May 25.
The TAH, which includes an existing 1,811-km route comprising NH-13 (1,559 km) and parts of NH-15 (80 km), NH-215 (30 km) and SH-25, is an under-construction 2-lane more than 2,407-km-long highway passing through 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh.
It runs from LAC in Tawang in the northwest to Kanubari in the southeast at the tri-junction of Assam-Nagaland-Arunachal Pradesh and connects at least 16 districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
Officials informed the chief minister that the frontier highway is proposed to begin from Bomdila in West Kameng and end at Vijaynagar in Changlang, covering a distance of 1748 km.
Parts of this highway will be executed by NHIDCL (National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd) and BRO (Border Roads Organization) besides state PWD.
The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has identified six interconnectivity corridors to connect NH-52 (now NH-15) in Assam with the Trans Arunachal Highway (NH-13) and the proposed Frontier Highway (NH-913).
The MoRTH has announced that all approvals and land acquisition will be progressively completed by March 2025, and the construction will be progressively completed by March 2027 in the overlapping phases.
While reviewing the status of road projects being executed by the state departments of Highways, Public Works, Rural Works and Urban Development in the state, Khandu emphasized on quality and timely completion of all under-progress road projects, and urged the engineers, especially the chief engineers of all zones and divisions, to check the practice of compiling DPRs (Detail Project Reports) with exuberant budget estimates.
Khandu pointed out that most of the DPRs prepared by departmental engineers always tend to be on the higher side of the actual cost of the project.
“Yes, we need roads and other developmental projects. But we must always consider the financial capabilities of the state government while preparing DPRs. I have seen DPRs of bridges of smaller proportions costing more than those executed by agencies like the BRO of much bigger proportions. Concerned chief engineers should review and revise such exuberant DPRs before submitting them to the government,” he advised.
He suggested that relevant technology for road construction – as per the geographical and topographical conditions of the place – must be adopted to maintain the quality and longevity of the project and check cost escalation during construction.
Khandu also advised the secretaries and particularly the chief engineers to physically visit the work-in-progress sites once a month. He said this will not only keep the pace of work in tune and ensure quality but also boost the morale of junior-level officers and staff working on the ground.
He also called upon them to keep a check on any allegations or complaints of corruption involving their officers and insisted on ‘zero tolerance’ towards any kind of corrupt practices.
Discussing on the maintenance and revamping of existing roads under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive State Road Development Plan (CMCSRDP), Khandu suggested the PWD complete all the ongoing projects before entertaining new proposals within this financial year. He assured that the requisite fund for this would be made available by the state government.
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Reviewing the status of PMGSY roads, executed by the RWD, Khandu said the department needs to concentrate more on the districts of East Kameng, Kurung Kumey, Kra-Dadi and Upper Subansiri as the data presented showed that most of the unconnected villages fall in these districts.
The review meeting was attended by RWD Minister Honchun Ngandam and top officials of PWD, Highways, RWD and UD.
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