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Calls for quality assurance from contractors

`CANCEROUS GROWTH': The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, at the 2nd National Conference on Rural Roads organised by the Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi on Wednesday. - Rajeev Bhatt

New Delhi May 23 Admitting that corruption in road construction sector has spread over the entire country like "cancer", the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday stressed on the need to get quality assurances from contractors for road projects.

"We need quality benchmarks and quality assurance for rural roads, as we have for the National Highways. I am concerned about the fact that we invest crores of rupees every year on road construction and maintenance, and yet with every monsoon our roads get worn.

"A major reason for poor quality roads is corruption and the lack of quality assurance," Dr Singh said adding that corruption in road construction projects has "spread like cancer to every corner of our vast country".

India has a road network of over 3 million kilometres.

The Government has investment plans of Rs 2,22,000 crore to build multi-laned highways (under the National Highway Development Programme) and Rs 48,000 crore to build all-weather rural roads (under Bharat Nirman) that would connect 66,000 villages. Referring to the initiatives taken by the Rural Development Ministry to address corruption, Dr Singh hoped that the rural road development programmes could be implemented in a transparent and accountable manner.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Roadways | Economic Offences

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