The Hindu Business Line : The road ahead for UP roads

Over Rs 1,000 crore is `spent' every year for construction of roads in Uttar Pradesh. "But how much is actually spent for the purpose is anybody's guess," frets `Uttar Pradesh Development Report' of the Planning Commission, published in two volumes by Academic Foundation (www.academicfoundation.com).

"It is no longer a secret that in the name of laying of new roads crores of rupees go into the pockets of politicians, officials and contractors — the unholy trinity that works in unison," reads a snatch in the report, citing a news story of 2001.

In 1999, the Comptroller and Auditor-General had commented that there were many instances where the construction of roads and bridges did not serve the primary purpose, or was not constructed at all, though recorded! "Further, insufficient funds were allocated for the maintenance of the network and whatever funds were allocated were diverted to the `expansion' of network."

The NH (National Highway) length in the State remained just around 2,800 km between 1985 and 1997. By 2003, however, the length increased to about 5,000 km, with the declaration of certain SH (State Highway) sections as NH. Useful stats are that "a large part of NH (21 per cent) is classified as High Density Corridors, i.e. with traffic of more than 30,000 passenger car units (pcu) per day."

In Punjab, the percentage stood at 29, while Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan had only about 13 per cent of NH as High Density Corridors, as of 2003. Expansion of road network in Uttar Pradesh, in recent years, has been mainly in ODR (other district roads), and VR (village roads), "reflecting growing urbanisation and an attempt to provide connectivity to villages," one learns. What about the road conditions? `Persistently poor,' comments the report.

"Only 40 per cent of SH and 4 per cent of MDR (major district roads) are two-laned. More than one-third of the roads in Uttar Pradesh are unsurfaced and almost half of the unsurfaced roads are non-motorable. About 36 per cent of SHs are below standard single-lane roads." The State doesn't fare well in terms of road density (road length per unit area) and road intensity (road length per capita), vis-à-vis national numbers. But the comparison turns worse `if only surfaced and motorable unsurfaced roads are taken into account'.

The report finds that the State's BOT (build, operate, and transfer) policy guidelines are not well thought-out. In contrast Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have policies that clearly define `how risks are going to be shared by a private developer with the State government and enumerate incentives provided to private sector participants'. Gujarat's BOT policy even removes `legal and political risks' from contracts.

Is there a road ahead for UP's roads? Yes, if there is `commercial orientation,' says the report. This means the road network has to be managed like any other business enterprise. Solving the State's problems requires fundamental changes in the way the government manages and finances the road network, urges the report.

D. Murali

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