Latest news with #PradhanMantriGramSadakYojana
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Nadda meets Gadkari, seeks help in restoring HP roads damaged by flash floods
Shimla: Union health minister and BJP national president J P Nadda , along with BJP Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh Harsh Mahajan, met road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday and sought help for the damaged roads and highways in the hill state. After the meeting, Nadda said Gadkari assured them that the central govt would not leave any stone unturned to help Himachal and the roads damaged by the disaster would be repaired on a war footing. The vision presented by the central minister regarding road construction technology, tunnels, and bridges will significantly benefit Himachal, Nadda added. The health minister said the pace of development in the rural areas of Himachal would now accelerate. The central govt has approved a material budget of Rs 201 crore for the state under the first phase of MNREGA, he informed. This amount will expedite small and large projects, including steps, pathways, and roads at the panchayat level. Nadda mentioned that Himachal had been consistently receiving funds from the central govt under the national disaster relief fund and the state disaster relief fund, with over Rs 5,000-crore in aid already provided to the state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like [Pictures] The only WD-40 trick everyone should know Undo The central govt is always ready to provide relief, having stood by Himachal financially in the past and will continue to do so, said the BJP national president. Recalling the 2023 monsoon season, Nadda mentioned the disasters in Mandi and Kullu, during which he had visited Himachal three times. He recalled that Rs 3,146 crore in relief was provided by the central govt to the hill state. Recently, the central govt allocated Rs 2,006 crore to Himachal for rehabilitation under the NDRF, totalling Rs 5,152 crore, said Nadda. Also, more than one lakh houses have been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and roads worth over Rs 3,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he added. Shimla: Union health minister and BJP national president J P Nadda, along with BJP Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh Harsh Mahajan, met road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday and sought help for the damaged roads and highways in the hill state. After the meeting, Nadda said Gadkari assured them that the central govt would not leave any stone unturned to help Himachal and the roads damaged by the disaster would be repaired on a war footing. The vision presented by the central minister regarding road construction technology, tunnels, and bridges will significantly benefit Himachal, Nadda added. The health minister said the pace of development in the rural areas of Himachal would now accelerate. The central govt has approved a material budget of Rs 201 crore for the state under the first phase of MNREGA, he informed. This amount will expedite small and large projects, including steps, pathways, and roads at the panchayat level. Nadda mentioned that Himachal had been consistently receiving funds from the central govt under the national disaster relief fund and the state disaster relief fund, with over Rs 5,000-crore in aid already provided to the state. The central govt is always ready to provide relief, having stood by Himachal financially in the past and will continue to do so, said the BJP national president. Recalling the 2023 monsoon season, Nadda mentioned the disasters in Mandi and Kullu, during which he had visited Himachal three times. He recalled that Rs 3,146 crore in relief was provided by the central govt to the hill state. Recently, the central govt allocated Rs 2,006 crore to Himachal for rehabilitation under the NDRF, totalling Rs 5,152 crore, said Nadda. Also, more than one lakh houses have been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and roads worth over Rs 3,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he added.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Govt to notify revamped model concession agreement for BOT (Toll) projects in a month, says road secretary Umashankar, ETInfra
Advt Advt By & , ETInfra NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will notify a revamped Model Concession Agreement ( MCA ) for Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll road projects that seeks to moderate the traffic risk faced by private investors, a top official has overhauled MCA will drop the concept of competing roads and introduce a so-called buy-out principle by linking all parameters to traffic, V. Umashankar , Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said while addressing the ET Infra Roads and Highways Summit held in Delhi on July 18.'We are doing away with the concept of competing roads and additional toll ways and relating everything to traffic, which means that the need for disputes that are likely to arise will not now arise because these factors have been built in a different way,' Umashankar stated, noting that defining a competing road in India is 'very difficult'.According to the road ministry, 'competing road' means a road connecting the two end points of a highway and serving as an alternative route.'I have come across a case where in an arbitration somebody made a claim that a Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana road was also a competing road for a BOT concessionaire,' he said, describing how a 'loose definition' of competing facility prescribed in the MCA creates a dispute at a later stage.'That aspect we are tightening out and the single parameter would be traffic. If the traffic is not up to the threshold or it drops compared to previous years, then a mechanism automatically should kick in. Along with that, when a highway reaches the targeted traffic, then there will be a buyout principle. We can buy out so that we are not locked in and the expansion of the highway does not happen,' the Secretary changes are aimed at removing the 'uncertainty' and to make the MCA and the construction part 'more predictable' so that financing and construction becomes 'easier', thereby helping the highway authority to impose 'quality conditions' upon it.'We are rewriting the model concession agreement where we are moderating the traffic risk that is faced by a BOT concessionaire. There will be built-in mechanisms for extension or compensation in case traffic falls below the threshold and there will be a (revenue) sharing mechanism where the traffic goes beyond that threshold,' said Umshankar.'We are at the final stage of the MCA clearance and, hopefully, in a month's time we should be notifying it,' Umashankar revamping of the MCA comes close on the heels of the government's decision to revert to the BOT (Toll) model for developing highways after a gap of close to a a BOT Model, a private developer is responsible for financing, building and operating a highway project in which he is allowed to recover the investment by way of user charges or tolls for a specified BOT (Toll) Model is one of the key instruments adopted by the government for development of large-scale highway projects, but over the years it had fallen out of favour as developers faced challenges such as delay in land acquisitions, environmental clearance and fluctuation in traffic impacting toll revenues, among the revamped model concession agreement, it is expected that the government will enable provisions wherein changes to concession modalities will come about if the projected traffic undergoes variation by more than 5 per cent, than the earlier 20 per cent threshold, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra , had said in an interaction with ET Infra revamped model concession agreement related to BOT (Toll) Model is also expected to include significant changes related to land acquisition norms, forest clearances and other aspects related to pre-construction activities.'There were issues with the BOT concept. So, the first part of ensuring that we have a good BOT system in place is if we take care of the pre-construction issues -- land acquisition, forest clearances and others. On this again, we have issued a schedule saying at what time the project will be bid, at what time the project will be received based upon pre-construction activities,' said Umshankar.'Today, we will not even initiate the bidding process unless a wildlife clearance is received because that has an impact on cost. We won't receive the bids unless forest clearances are received,' he the existing norms, developers were exposed to operational risk at various stages of construction and were mandated to commence the work on the project after minimum acquisition of 80 per cent of the land required for the project.'What we (now) do is that we spend a little time on the appraisal, approval process and then the construction time gets spread out. We are planning to do it the other way, spend a little more time doing the pre-construction part and then get into the award so that the construction proceeds ahead smoothly. So, if you do that then you take the project construction risk significantly out of the game,' said government's endeavour to revive the BOT (Toll) Model has come at a time when budgetary allocation has reached a peak, with capital expenditure for 2025-26 at ₹11.11 lakh crore, a marginal increase from the previous year. The ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is now looking more at monetisation of brownfield highways and expressways rather than funding via debt and relying on budgetary that there has been a 'slight dip' in the highway award process, the Secretary said that 'it is also because this is the time to re-calibrate, re-consider and re-think because what we do now is going to stay with us for the next 50 years and that will be it'.The MCA for Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) road projects will also be revised, Umashankar added.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Unfinished bridge cuts off Bageshwar village from medical aid
Bageshwar: In Sorag, a remote Himalayan village in Kapkot tehsil of Bageshwar district, an unfinished bridge has become a grim symbol of official apathy, leaving residents cut off from basic medical care. With the long-promised structure still incomplete after four years, villagers are forced to carry the sick and injured on makeshift stretchers for miles across treacherous terrain. On Friday, 16-year-old Diwakar Danu, a Class 11 student, suffered a severe spinal injury after falling from a roof. With no motorable access to the village, locals carried him on a stretcher for 8km over rugged terrain to reach the nearest ambulance. Doctors at the district hospital confirmed a spinal fracture and advised complete bed rest. The incident has once again cast a spotlight on the long-stalled bridge project over the Pindar River. In 2021, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), an 11-km road was sanctioned to connect Sorag to the nearest main road. The construction agency, WAPCOS, was allocated Rs 4.5 crore to build the road and a 60-metre bridge. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo While the road has been completed, the bridge remains unfinished, rendering the route impassable for vehicles. The situation worsens during the monsoon, when river levels rise and isolation deepens. "Authorities built the road but left out the crucial bridge. Without it, we're still cut off. Even the temporary wooden bridge built by us was washed away during the monsoon," said Diwan Singh Danu, a resident. Nitin Soragi, another villager added, "Stretchers and palanquins have become our emergency transport. The bridge has been in limbo for years. Generations have waited." WAPCOS engineer Bishan Lal claimed the bridge between Ungiya and Sorag is "80% complete". "Shuttering and slab work remain. We expect to finish construction by winter," he added. Sorag isn't the only village struggling. In the Kalapair-Kapdi area, residents are using a risky trolley system to cross the Ramganga River after a suspension bridge collapsed. "We risk our lives every day. The alternative route takes several kilometres on foot," said Vijaya Koranga, a resident.
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Eye on 2027 polls, Punjab CM Mann govt to repair 20,000 km of rural roads
The Punjab government has launched a massive rural road repair and upgradation drive, covering more than 20,000 km of link roads across the state, the first such exercise in nearly seven years. Coming ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, the project is being funded primarily through loans, with the Centre's Rural Development Fund (RDF), pending for four years, forcing the state to seek alternative sources. The total project outlay is Rs 3,436 crore. With the Centre holding back an estimated Rs 10,000 crore in RDF dues, the government has turned to NABARD and other sources to fund this crucial infrastructure overhaul. According to a senior government official, the work is strategically timed to be completed by late 2026, ahead of the Assembly elections. 'The government wants visible development. Freshly paved rural roads just before the polls will boost the perception of progress,' the official said. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a public address last week, said the state would invest Rs 3,500 crore to repair 19,000 km of rural roads and accused the Centre of stalling the RDF, which he said could have funded the entire rural road revamp. Currently, tenders have been floated for the first major leg of the work , about 5,672 km of link roads, with allotments scheduled in phases until mid-August. In addition to repairing link roads, the Punjab government has set aside funds for several other key infrastructure works. It will spend Rs 100 crore on the repair of 21 roads and bridges through NABARD's Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). Another Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated from the state's consolidated fund to upgrade 1,349 km of plan roads maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). The government will also spend Rs 261 crore to improve 77 link roads commonly used for mining and sand transportation, with funding coming from the Centre's Special Assistance and market committees. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 736 km of rural roads are also being upgraded with Rs 671 crore sanctioned by the Centre. While the state government is projecting this drive as a game-changing investment in rural infrastructure, officials acknowledge that reliance on borrowed funds was a last resort in the face of the prolonged RDF deadlock. With less than two years left for the next elections, the AAP government is hoping the visibility of road construction will translate into political goodwill — especially in the rural heartland where connectivity is directly tied to agricultural activity and daily life. During the Assembly session in March this year, public works minister Harbhajan Singh had blamed their shabby state on the delay by the Centre in releasing RDF.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Elderly woman dies, another critical after consuming poisonous mushrooms; medical help delayed due to road blockade
Bageshwar: A woman died and another remains in critical condition after consuming poisonous wild mushrooms in the remote Kunwari village in Kapkot block of Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district on Sunday afternoon. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by continuous landslides and blocked roads. Dhanuli Devi, 65, and her daughter-in-law Kavita Devi, 27, found the mushrooms while working in their agricultural fields, and cooked them for lunch, believing them to be safe for consumption. Both women subsequently developed symptoms of severe poisoning. Dhanuli Devi passed away shortly afterward, while Kavita's condition deteriorated rapidly. Villagers initially attempted to treat Kavita using traditional remedies and herbs, but without proper medical attention, her condition remains precarious. "The road has been closed for days due to landslides in the Ambua stream area," said Guddu Danu, a resident. "If it had been open, Dhanuli could have been saved. Ambulances can't reach us, and it's too dangerous to carry the sick on foot."Persistent rainfall and landslides have rendered the five-kilometre road connecting the village to the main thoroughfare impassable, blocking any vehicular movement and impeding rescue operations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo Brijesh Ghatyal, in-charge of Kapkot CHC, said that a medical team was sent immediately after receiving news of the incident. "We're trying our best, but due to road closures and dangerous conditions, reaching the village is taking time. Only after reaching can the team assess Kavita's actual condition," he said. A team comprising health officials, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) staff, and local police are working to ensure medical aid reaches the village. Dhanuli Devi is survived by her son Khilaf Ram, daughter-in-law Kavita, and three grandchildren. The incident highlights the significant challenges faced by residents of remote Himalayan areas, where monsoon season regularly disrupts access to essential services, including healthcare and emergency assistance.
