All India Radio to Provide Live Traffic Updates from Nation Highways Soon
March 8, 2016
All India Radio (AIR) will soon provide live traffic updates for commuters to help them plan their journey via National Highways. The Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Pon Radhakrishnan told Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Highway Advisory service will be launched on a pilot basis soon and can also be replicated all over India.
“Highway Advisory services is going to launched shortly on a pilot basis on the stretch of National Highway 8, between Delhi and Jaipur, in three phases,” he said.
AIR stations located in Delhi, Alwar and Jaipur will broadcast the live updates in the first phase and 22 bulletins will be issued every day for three months.
Source: Wikimedia
The bulletins will include safety awareness content along with live traffic updates on NH-8, details of heavy traffic on particular spots and vehicle breakdowns on the carriageway and service lanes, if any.
This step is being taken because of an increased numbers of complaints regarding traffic jams on NH-8. The ministry will get regular traffic updates from Millennium City Expressways Private Limited (MCEPL) and air them on radio. MCEPL will monitor the expressway through CCTV cameras and patrolling vehicles. According to reports, a dry run for the broadcast has already started and the programme will be officially launched soon.
Sources: The Better India
Basic Action Plan for Traffic Air Pollution Control -by Sanjay Pardeshi
January 9, 2016
The main reasons for Air Pollutions are:
1) Usage of too much Private Vehicles such as cars and two Wheelers.
2) No Separate defined lanes for two wheeler & cars on all roads resulting conjunction & slow traffic. In such cases, huge exhaust from vehicles polluted city areas tremendously.
3) No Separate left side defined red lane (as per our planning) for public buses, resulting crossing of vehicles, conjunction, traffic jam & huge pollution.
4) Increasing of public transport buses is one of the main solutions to control private cars & two wheelers resulting less pollution & traffic jam.
However these can achieve only when we can standardize all buses, their door positions & bus stops for the same. The separate left side “Red Line” is the key requirement for these buses.
To resolve all above problems & other transport problem, I have made ‘New Road & Transport Planning of Entire India’ for safe, smooth and pollution free travel. This action plan is ready for execution with the help of 20,000 words (approx.) & 134 sketches. This action plan has been demonstrated in the world meeting of International Road Federation (IRF) held in Riyadh.
This action plan consists of 6 innovative ideas & 24 types of standardizations, because of which traffic will regularized by 70% to 80% & accidents will be reduced substantially. Means safe, smooth and pollution free travel for everyone.
These 6 innovative ideas:-
- Separate lane for two wheeler (almost on all roads).
- Parallel parking on the road for all types of vehicles including two wheeler.
- Red line lane at left side for Buses, Auto rickshaw & taxies i.e. for public transport vehicles.
- Four door standardized Bus with unidirectional traffic system (UTS). This Bus will have separate door for ladies & family to get in & out. There will be separate seats for ladies & obviously separate bus stop also.
- Standardization of Bus stand, front infrastructure of Bus stand & railway station.
- BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) :- BRT Will run from left side instead of center of the road.
Similarly there will be 24 types of standardization comprising of different types of vehicles, Bus stops, dividers, bus stand etc.
1 |
City/Village internal roads. |
13 |
Buildings of ‘Chota Pariwar’. |
2 |
Outer city state / high / express ways. |
14 |
Bus / Electric bus |
3 |
Internal city over bridges. |
15 |
School bus / taxies / auto rickshaw |
4 |
State / high / express way over bridges. |
16 |
Small, big & share taxi. |
5 |
Road over the road. |
17 |
Light Commercial vehicles. |
6 |
Sub way & over bridges. |
18 |
Truck & trailer. |
7 |
All service roads. |
19 |
City bus stop & place of bus stops. |
8 |
Markings on roads Signal Systems. |
20 |
Road side public toilets & toilets in trains |
9 |
Parking system for all vehicles. |
21 |
Unidirectional traffic system (UTS) in Bus, railways & everywhere. |
10 |
Zebra crossing |
22 |
Intercity Bus stand & its front infrastructure. |
11 |
Signal Systems |
23 |
Front infrastructure of railway stations. |
12 |
Internal city dividers & state / high / express way dividers |
24 |
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) |
Above standardization are shown in main 190 pages action plan. Similarly animation of six new ideas is ready & can be seen on www.newroadtransport.com
Any city will be a “smart city” provided it should have separate lane for two wheeler. In above action plan, you will find separate two wheeler lane on almost every road. We all know that India is No. 1 in the road accidents & maximum accidents occurred are of two wheeler. At present two wheeler accident death is the highest in India & hence two wheeler should have then separate lane on the roads. All two wheeler are travel wherever they find place/gap on the road. They don’t have choice. Resulting, though we draw any international standard lane marking on roads, still we will see indiscipline traffic & it is because of non availability of proper lanes, two wheeler lanes is the requirement of the Indian transport system.
Similarly about public transport vehicles, especially for buses. We will draw separate lane for the buses on maximum roads (As shown in the action plan) which will gives cause easier travel for the ladies & children.
The next work is Bus stand & bus stop. Unless we standardized these in the entire country we cannot avoid jostling. You can see animation of these on www.newroadtransport.com.
Similarly about BRT, school taxi, rickshaw, dividers etc. we have to think collectively & minutely on each issue, make standardizations & accordingly execute quality work which is the base of this action plan. Otherwise we will start metro like Delhi but still we find indiscipline rush at outdoor of this metro station like in Delhi.
If we really wish pollution free transportation system like in Dubai or in America, then we have to think on micro levels on all aspects, make action plan (which is ready) & execute it qualitatively without any compromise. If we compromise on each issue, then we will find BRT which are exist now. For example, in Delhi, government invest huge amount to built BRT & then incurred heavy expenses to destroy it. Means wastage of money, time & efforts.
Hence the main feature of ‘New Road & Transport Planning of Entire India’ is a new concept of building complete basic infrastructure of road & transportation system in minimal time, expenses & changes.
Please note, until we built complete basic infrastructure for road & transport, we will not get 100% result of any major projects like metro, BRT etc for road and transportation, Parking and Traffic Air pollution. In any country, first basic infrastructure gets developed as per their needs & then mega projects executed.
Hence we will help / support government people, departments & we will follow this action plan. For these, we can print / read one/two standardization in daily news paper along with sketches which will help us to understand action plan gradually. Once all standardization will be published, we will complied it, the compiled book will be our action plan.
I appeal to all of Indians to join this revolutionary action Plan to make it happen in India.
Author : Sanjay Pardeshi
Sources: www.newroadtransport.com.
Strong interest in Indian highway project
December 28, 2015
Strong interest has been reported in a major highway project in India. PNC Infratech, Sadbhav Infrastructure, Ashoka Buildcon, and APCO Infratech have all been bidding to win the Meerut-Bulandshahr highway project. This is worth some US$105 million and involves the construction of a 62km highway link. The project will be carried out under the hybrid annuity model (HAM), with the builder and Indian Government splitting the construction cost 60:40. Under the HAM model, the Indian Government also has plans for 19 more national highway projects that will involve the construction of 1,300km of highways.
Sources: World Highways
Country to Get Eight New World-class Highways
December 28, 2015
NEW DELHI: The Central Government is planning to build eight more world-class express highways in addition to already announced seven expressways.
The new expressways include Nagpur-Mumbai, Jaipur-Ajmer-Ahemadabad, Nagpur-Hyderabad, Pune-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Bangalore.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that all express highways are going to be world class, matching the quality and specifications in advanced nations.
Sources: The New Indian Express
Gadkari Sanctions Rs 50,560 Crore National Highways to AP
December 28, 2015
AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu explaining the progress of development works to Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari (2nd right), Union Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu (right) before laying the foundation stone for Kanaka Durga flyover in Vijayawada on Saturday. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani is also seen | P Ravindra Babu | EPS
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh will get Rs 50,560 cr worth national highways (a total of 3,092 km in length) in addition to the Rs 15,000 cr worth NH projects already under progress in the state, with an assurance of more in the coming days.
This was announced by Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari after laying the foundation stone for Kanka Durga Flyover to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 447.88 cr, along with upgradation of the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam section of NH 65, upgradation of NH 30 from Ibrahimpatnam Circle to Chandragudem and upgradation of NH 216 between Kathipudi and Kakinada.
Addressing a public gathering, Gadkari said roads are vital for development. He said when he took over the ministry, road construction was just 2 km a day which today is 18 km a day. He said that by March end he wanted it to be 30 km a day.
“In AP, Rs 15,000 cr worth projects are under progress this year and the state has many expectations from my department. I am now announcing new NH projects and it is for the state government which has to do the needed land acquisition and sumbit Detailed Project Reports. I promise to have the project online by end of December next year,” he said.
With regard to the proposed 180-km outer ring road for the new capital Amaravati, at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 cr, the Union minister said that the ORR would be an eight-lane, access-controlled expressway. It would be similar to the under construction expressway between Delhi and Meerut.
Expressing concern over the increasing road accidents (5 lakh a year in the country with 1.5 lakh deaths) Gadkari said the proposed new Motor Vehicle Act would revolutionise the whole system. Stating 30 per cent of the driving licences were fake, he added that the government was planning to set up driver training institutes in every assembly constituency, which would help in issuing driving licences in a foolproof manner. Stressing the importance of using waterways for transportation of goods and people, Gadkari said that AP had a great potential in this regard. He said already a survey works of the waterways was under progress in the state and sought the cooperation of the state government in this regard.
Thanking Gadkari for the announcement of Rs 65,000 cr worth road projects, the CM said they were beyond his expectations and added that he was very happy. Stating that handholding by the Centre was still needed as the state was yet to develop a lot, he added that he would submit a blueprint and an action plan with regard to the Amaravati ORR project to Gadkari for approval within a month and wanted the projects to be completed expeditiously. He said new roads linking Rayalaseema with the new capital would reduce the travel time. He also requested for a new road along the lengthy coast of the state and wanted it to be done in a single stretch and not in a piecemeal manner. He said it would help in port-road connectivity and also give a boost to tourism.
Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas presided over the meeting. Union Minister of State YS Chowdary, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and others were present.
Sources: The New Indian Express
Indian Government Launches Green Highways Policy
December 28, 2015
The Centre has launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2015, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Lok Sabha on Thursday. The policy aims to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of the community, farmers, NGOs, the private sector, government agencies, and the forest department, Gadkari said during Lok Sabha’s Question Hour on Thursday.
Elaborating on the benefits, the minister said that this initiative would help around 10 lakh people get employment opportunities.
According to Gadkari, the key objectives of this policy are to evolve a framework for plantation along national highways, to reduce the impact of air pollution and dust as trees and shrubs are known to be a natural sink for air pollutants, to reduce the impact of the increasing noise pollution, to arrest soil erosion, to prevent glare from the headlights of incoming vehicles, etc.
The transport ministry has already decided that, henceforth, for the work related to making the highways more green, 1 per cent of civil work costs should be added separately while arriving at the total project cost of national highways being built, he added.
Gadkari also appealed to all MPs to come forward to help the Road Transport Ministry to implement the green initiative successfully.
During the Lok Sabha Question Hour session, the minister also highlighted the fact that around 1.5 lakh people die in road accidents every year in India. “Around 1.5 lakh people die in around 5 lakh road accidents every year in the country. This is a huge number,” Gadkari said.
He explained that due to such a large number of accidents, the country loses around 55,000 crore annually, which is 3 per cent of the GDP.
The minister also added that during the 12th Five Year Plan, private investment to the tune of approximately 1,78,000 crore is required for the development of National Highways out of the total requirement of 4,83,000 crore.
Gadkari went on to speak about the hurdles which are generally faced while dealing with the Road Transport and Highways Ministry and said that all problems related to execution of 95 per cent of highway projects were resolved and work on them will start very soon. In case of the remaining 5 per cent projects, efforts are on to resolve the pending issues, he said.
“Considering the importance of completing the projects, various steps have been taken by the government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to remove the hurdles affecting the construction of national highways that includes streamlining of land acquisition and regulatory clearances, close coordination with other ministries, revamped disputes resolution mechanism, etc.,” he said.
He added that the NHAI has also decided not to award projects till all major pre-construction approvals are in place for the projects to avoid post-bid delays and litigations.
Sources: carandbike(NDTV venture)
L&T leads the way to make Jaipur India’s first smart city
December 24, 2015
Larsen & Toubro’s Smart World & Communication business vertical is leading the way to make Jaipur India’s first smart city by creating a host of smart solutions like wi-fi hotspots, citizen interactive information kiosks, surveillance cameras, environmental sensors, parking information systems and remote kiosks with facility management services at select locations in the city.
L&T has received the mandate from Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), which is leading the initiative to equip Jaipur with world-class digital facilities targeted primarily at the heavy tourist traffic that the city attracts. All kind of information about the city, its rich heritage and history, locations, directions, distances, etc., will now be available at the click of a button to tourists and citizens.
“The government’s announcement of creating 100 smart cities in the country will go a long way in making India future-ready and it is wonderful that we have an opportunity to participate in making that objective a reality.”
The Jaipur project has been planned in two phases with phase-1 aimed at transforming six major locations into smart zones in the next month-and-a-half and the remaining locations to be completed in a total of 120 days along with an operations & maintenance contract for 5 years. In phase 1, L&T is completing the work at six locations, including the famous Amer Fort.
Sources: dna
Government has to open purse-strings to get new highways off the road
December 24, 2015
7,500 km at completion risk, trend shifts to govt-funded format.
The road sector is being widely touted as the only glimmer of hope in a bleak core sector narrative, but the numbers tell a different story
On December 2, creditors of Hyderabad-based road developer IVRCL Ltd decided to convert their loans to the company worth Rs 7,500 crore into a majority equity holding. The lenders, led by State Bank of India and IDBI Bank Ltd, invoked the strategic debt restructuring (SDR) provision that allows banks to take over the management of a firm after converting debt into equity in cases where debt restructuring has failed or is near failure.
In August, Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd agreed to sell six roads among nine infrastructure projects to BIF India Holdings Pte Ltd for Rs 563 crore, taking advantage of a newly introduced regulation to ease the exit of developers of operational road projects. On November 23, Gammon India Ltd’s lenders decided to invoke the SDR norms and convert a part of its Rs 15,000-crore debt into majority equity.
The road sector is being widely touted as the only glimmer of hope in a bleak core sector narrative, but the numbers tell a different story. An estimated 7,500 km of highway projects have been deemed to be at high risk of not being completed, including 5,100 km under construction and 2,400 km of operational sections that were awarded mostly between fiscals 2010 and 2012 on the Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) format.
Estimates prepared by the research arm of rating agency Crisil show that of the projects under construction that are at high risk, around 50 per cent are due to significant cost over-runs and weak wherewithal of sponsors.
Finding it difficulty to award Highway sections to private developers, the roads ministry has resorted to a sharp shift from the BOT model to the government-funded Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) format. The EPC model is less capital-intensive and the developer is largely insulated from the traffic risk — the government makes the payment and the developer’s responsibility ends with delivering the completed project.
Under the BOT model, where the developer funds the project and earns returns from toll collection for the duration of the concession, the capital is locked in for a long period with the risk of revenue not adequately covering for construction and debt servicing costs. Road Transport and Highways Secretary Vijay Chhibber told The Indian Express that about 80 per cent of road projects are being offered under the EPC route currently, with BOT and hybrid annuity accounting for the rest. “As the market changes, we will increasingly move away from EPC and in favour of hybrid annuity and BOT,” he said.
The hybrid annuity model is a mix of the EPC and BOT models, where the road authority will provide an initial grant of up to 40 per cent of the cost with the developer chipping in with the rest and completing the project. Data from India Ratings and Research — a unit of Fitch Ratings — shows that 21 highway projects worth Rs 26,000 crore failed to attract bids over the last two fiscal years.
As a result, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had to fall back on EPC contracts to plug the gap — from nearly an all-BOT road model during 2008-09 and 2012-13, the share of BOT dipped below 15 per cent in 2013-14 and 2014-15. For instance, out of 7,980 km length of national highways awarded during the last year, just 700 km had gone on public private partnership mode and the rest were all EPC projects. But even if a large-scale shift to EPC were to happen, there are bound to be tremendous constraints on funding. A parliamentary panel review report in December flagged that NHAI was able to spend only Rs 6,208 crore out of Rs 23,691.8 crore, or about 26 per cent, allocated during 2014-15 at the Revised Estimate stage (in the budget for 2015-16).
The official contention of the roads ministry, though, is that during 2014-15, the NHAI recorded total cash outflow or expenditure amounting to Rs 23,696.19 crore and that the company actually used borrowings amounting to Rs 2,876.40 crore to bridge the gap between resources from the government and its cash outflows.
While there seems to be some pickup in project awards, the outlook for under-construction projects is turning more bleak. “Under-construction projects require equity and cost-overrun support of around Rs 28,500 crore over the next two years. Of this, about Rs 16,000 crore could be stumped up from internal accrual of sponsors and sale of stake at the special purpose vehicle level. That leaves a significant shortfall of Rs 12,500 crore,” said Sudip Sural, senior director, Crisil Ratings, who worked on the roads sector report.
On the issue of projects awarded between 2010 and 2012 being at a high risk of not being completed, Chhibber admitted that the government has worked hard to work a way around the legacy issues that were dogging progress of road projects. “The real gamechanger is the recognition within the government that we may have also contributed to the languishing projects, in terms of delays in clearances and land acquisition. So, we’ve taken a decision that to the extent that the delay is on account of such factors, we will compensate the developer. This is a major policy shift… the acceptance of the fact that the government has not met its side of the bargain,” he said. He also said that in some cases, the concessionaire may have taken out more money out of the project and is now not interested in its completion.
In such cases, Chhibber said the ministry will not stop short of taking action against developers, “even to the extent of cancellation of contracts”. Atul Punj, chairman, Punj Lloyd Ltd, a construction services player in the infrastructure sector, told The Indian Express that while there was an uptick in the highways and the power transmission sectors, most other infrastructure segments were still struggling. According to him, the clubbing of the construction sector within the overall infrastructure bracket for funding purposes was undermining the recovery. This is more so, he said, because banks were at the upper end of their limits on lending to the infrastructure sector, leaving the construction sector, which shoulders the primary load of setting projects into motion, badly hamstrung.
Pending disputes: Rs 25,000 crore Disputes are another issue that are hampering the completion of road projects. Data from the road ministry shows that 112 cases involving Rs 25,000 crore were pending under arbitration between the NHAI and developers till end-April 2015. The disputes are typically accompanied by lengthy arbitration, something that private players feel drains them badly. Added to this is the fact that an underdeveloped bond market has forced PPP road projects to mainly depend on debt from commercial banks, something highlighted by the Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, who cautioned banks of their high exposure to the sector and underscored the need to deleverage.
By February 2015, the total deployment of gross bank credit in the road sector was Rs 1.67 lakh crore, 384 per cent up from FY08. The infrastructure sector was identified by RBI, in 2013, as one of the five sectors with a high level of stressed advances. Wooing investors Apart from the hybrid annuity model, introduced for projects granted from October 1, 2015, the government has been looking at other ways to boost investor appetite.
In August 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared a proposal to allow infrastructure companies — essentially in the road sector — to divest 100 per cent of their equity after two years of completion of construction for all projects given as per the BOT model, irrespective of the year the contract was handed out. This was to allow companies to use the funds from the sale of equity to invest in other projects as well as repay their debts. But road developers say it’s tough to hold on to the asset for even two years after completion of construction, as the debt goes up because of cost escalations due to inordinate delays for land and other clearances, legal disputes and arbitration proceedings. The solutions, according to a Maharashtra-based private developer, are far from optimal.
Sources: Indian Express
Government to rate national highways on 20 parameters
November 23, 2015
NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra has said that the project will cover the entire NH network and one of the key parameter will be the green cover and beautification along the NHs.
NEW DELHI: Considering that most stretches of highways in India don’t provide much comfort to commuters on different parameters such as smoothness of the ride or sensibly designed entry/exits, the government will now start rating all national highways (NHs).
The road transport and highways ministry is preparing about 20 parameters for objective assessment of NHs from time to time. They include, commuters’ comfort, safety, aesthetics and other facilities for pedestrians. These will work as guidelines for both the commuters and the government, sources said.
NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra has said that the project will cover the entire NH network and one of the key parameter will be the green cover and beautification along the NHs.
This massive exercise is being undertaken for objective assessment of highways to identify the worst stretches that need immediate attention of government. “It will be an objective way of measuring things and will help avoid a situation where government undertakes works for political reasons. We are identifying the criteria, which will largely cover the width and quality of road, what is the satisfaction level of all types of road users and safety features as well,” said a road transport ministry official.
The proposal gains importance considering the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized the need to develop highways and all other related facilities to ensure that people “enjoy” the drive on any stretch of NH.
Sources said though across the world no country has rated its NHs or express motorways, India has planned this since many highway stretches here are of one and two lanes. “Either we take a decision that no NH will be less than four lanes or we have to put some mechanism in place for objective assessment of the existing stretches. Rating of highways will also create greater public awareness,” said an NHAI official.
Source: The Times Of India
National Highways strength to be raised to 1.5 lakh km: Nitin Gadkari
November 23, 2015
SONIPAT: Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today stressed upon increasing the number of express highways in the country and said the strength of national highways will be raised to 1.5 lakh km by next month.
He said that his ministry was aiming at raising the daily road building to 30 km by March end.
“We witness 5 lakh accidents on roads every year in which 1.50 lakh people die. We have analyzed the reasons behind these accidents. We found the number of vehicles is on the rise whereas there is less infrastructure to complement the surge in vehicle numbers. There is a need for developing new highways in the country,” Gadkari said.
The Minister was addressing a gathering here where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of three highway projects (341 km long) worth Rs Rs 13,802 crore at the Rajiv Gandhi Education City at Rai today.
“We have a road strength of 48 lakh km in the country, out of which 96,000 km are national highways. We will increase the strength of national highways from 96,000 km to 1.50 lakh km by coming December,” he said.
He further noted that single lanes will be made to double lanes while two lanes will be turned into four lanes, six lanes and eight lanes.
Gadkari said that Eastern Peripheral expressway would be the first axis controlled project in the country where vehicles would be able to run at a speed of 120 km per hour.
According to the Minister, Delhi will be the biggest gainer with the coming up of both Eastern Peripheral expressway highway and Western Peripheral expressway highways.
“Delhi will be the biggest gainer as traffic problem will ease, level of pollution will come down and number of accidents will drop,” he said, adding that states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana will also be benefited with these highway projects.
Gadkari stated that his ministry would commence work on the 14-lane Delhi to Meerut Expressway project this month.
He said a decision has also been taken to develop a transport, educational and medicinal hub alongside the new expressways.
“Amenities like petrol pumps, helipads, restaurants, fruits and vegetables pavilions, entertainment, dhabas for truck drivers, will come up on the roadside which will generate employment,” he said.
The Union minister said that his ministry’s aim was to contribute 2 per cent to GDP in next five years.
“We are also working on how to give employment to 50 lakh youth in coming five years,” he said.
He noted that water, power, transport and communication were the keys to take the country forward.
“I hope with the support of the governments of Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, we will be able to reach Katra for Vaishno Devi from Delhi in a car in eight hours,” he said.
“For Yamuna river, a DPR (Detailed Project Report) has been prepared. We have seen a dream that a waterway will be developed for enabling people to see Taj.
“A company of Netherlands is preparing the DPR. Since Parliament did not function during last three sessions, the projects for converting 111 rivers into inland waterways could not be taken up,” he added.