NEW DELHI: Several road projects in the North East, including Meghalaya, have remained non-starters owing to absence of land or lack of environment clearance, said Road Transport and Highways Minister Mansukh L. Maddaviya in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Meghalaya MP Wansuk Syiem said 73 national highway projects (8,310 km) have been stalled in the North East mainly due to land acquisition problems.
To this, Maddaviya pointed out at other hindrances like public agitation, statutory clearance, disputes and lack of raw materials. As result as many as 42 projects have been terminated, 21 resolved and 10 more are to be resolved, the Minister said.
On Wansuk’s query about whether investors are reluctant to invest in the region, Maddaviya said, “No.”
At least 118 projects for the North East are pending with the Environment Ministry alone for want of forest clearance despite the Centre’s push for faster development of the region, another report said. According to the data of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 60 per cent of the 118 projects are road projects. This is significant as road projects are touted as a government priority for the North East, which faces serious connectivity problems.
Many stalled road projects are under the Border Road Task Force near the India-China border. It is interesting that while the Government is claiming to take railways to Tawang how such vital road projects remain in cold storage.
Besides roads, there are 38 transmission line projects and nine hydel power projects, which are yet to get clearance, according to the data. Of all the northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh tops the list with 35 pending projects, followed by Manipur (26) and Sikkim (25). Meghalaya has seven pending projects. A recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has expressed concern over the “indecisive approach” of the DoNER Ministry in implementing NESRIP road projects funded by the Asian Development Bank.
(With inputs from PTI)
