Gadkari stresses upon strict adherence to project schedules; reviews 500 road projects worth Rs 3 Lakh Crore

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari has stressed upon strict adherence to project schedules. Chairing the first day of the two-day long review meeting of NHAI-Ministry projects with Minister of State Gen (Retd) Dr V.K. Singh, officials from the Ministry, NHAI, NHIDCL and State Authorities in Haryana’s Manesar today, the Minister called for adopting best practices in project management and construction. He said, while he is committed to quality, he has zero tolerance towards corruption. He added that any inter-ministerial issues holding up a project may be brought to the notice of the Ministry for his intervention to expedite resolution.

Projects from the Southern and Central zones that include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Telangana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are among those reviewed today.

The Minister also launched online Web Portal ‘GATI’ on the occasion. The portal has been created by NHAI taking inspiration from the PRAGATI Portal used by PMO. It can be accessed from NHAI Website and contractors/ concessionaires can raise any project related issues on the Portal. The issue will immediately come to the notice of every official of NHAI including top management, and immediate action will be taken by the concerned officer, duly updating on the Portal.

The issues raised in the GATI will be daily monitored by a team of officers in NHAI and will be constantly reviewed by the senior officers of NHAI and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. This will bring transparency and speed up the decision making giving real GATI to highway construction.

A total of 500 projects valued at Rs 3 lakh crore will be reviewed in the following two days. The projects from North-Eastern states, Maharashtra, Uttarkhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Laddakh, Haryana, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will be reviewed tomorrow.