Good Samaritans
Good Samaritans
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India praying Hon’ble Court to issue necessary directions to Government of India to frame guidelines in respect of Good Samaritans for protecting those who help accidents victims from legal hassles in exercise of its powers under Article 32 and Article 142 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court vide its order dated 29.10.2014 has directed the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Ministry of Law and Justice to issue the requisite guidelines in consultation with each other within three months from the date of order. Accordingly, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has issued the Gazette Notification on 12th May, 2015 for protection for good Samaritans.
This information was given by Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
This information was given by Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
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Shri Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation, Says Government is Committed to Improve Safety of Indian Roads
Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that the Government is committed to improve the safety of Indian roads. He said a bill adopting the best practices in the world in road transportation and safety standards will be brought soon. He was addressing the International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation – 2015 in New Delhi today. The event is being organized to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) which was established on 13th August, 1965.
Shri Gadkari said his vision is to make the functioning of the transport sector corruption free and transparent. He added that services should be delivered in a time bound manner. The Minister emphasized on adoption of new technologies such as GPS based system, passenger information system, CCTV cameras, automatic fare collection system and electronic ticket vending. He asked the Indian automobile manufacturers to ensure international standards in vehicle manufacturing. The goal should be good quality at reasonable cost, the Minister said. Shri Gadkari underlined use of bio-diesel and other alternate fuels to reduce the level of pollution in the environment.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Shri Anant Geete said that his Ministry will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in the development of automobiles that are in line with the Make in India slogan of the Prime Minister as well as environmentally conducive. He also suggested that incentives can be given to manufacturers in this regard.
During the inaugural session, Shri Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways and President, ASRTU said that the need is to work in the direction of environment friendly transport system which is sustainable too. He said that steps should be taken in the direction of manufacturing hybrid vehicles and developing alternate fuels.
National Transport Excellence awards were also presented on the occasion by Shri Gadkari. A coffee table book encapsulating the origin and journey of road transport in India was also released. A short film on public transport was also screened.
The International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation – 2015 is a two-day event in which various topics are being discussed such as Sustainable Public Road Transport – Challenges & Future Road Map, Smart Vehicle Technologies & Alternate fuels, Women’s Safety & challenges in Public transport and future of Bus industry in India.
Shri Gadkari said his vision is to make the functioning of the transport sector corruption free and transparent. He added that services should be delivered in a time bound manner. The Minister emphasized on adoption of new technologies such as GPS based system, passenger information system, CCTV cameras, automatic fare collection system and electronic ticket vending. He asked the Indian automobile manufacturers to ensure international standards in vehicle manufacturing. The goal should be good quality at reasonable cost, the Minister said. Shri Gadkari underlined use of bio-diesel and other alternate fuels to reduce the level of pollution in the environment.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Shri Anant Geete said that his Ministry will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in the development of automobiles that are in line with the Make in India slogan of the Prime Minister as well as environmentally conducive. He also suggested that incentives can be given to manufacturers in this regard.
During the inaugural session, Shri Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways and President, ASRTU said that the need is to work in the direction of environment friendly transport system which is sustainable too. He said that steps should be taken in the direction of manufacturing hybrid vehicles and developing alternate fuels.
National Transport Excellence awards were also presented on the occasion by Shri Gadkari. A coffee table book encapsulating the origin and journey of road transport in India was also released. A short film on public transport was also screened.
The International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation – 2015 is a two-day event in which various topics are being discussed such as Sustainable Public Road Transport – Challenges & Future Road Map, Smart Vehicle Technologies & Alternate fuels, Women’s Safety & challenges in Public transport and future of Bus industry in India.
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NHDP Projects
NHIDCL is currently mandated to take up projects covering 4365 Kms of Highways including bridges at an approximate cost of Rs. 35,000.00 Crores only.The State-wise details and status of these projects are as under:
S No.
|
State
|
Nos. of
Package/
stretches
|
Length (in Km)
|
Estimated Cost
(in Rs. Crore)
|
Status
| |
Awarded
|
In Process
| |||||
1
|
Andaman & Nichobar Islands
|
1
|
2.000
|
1000.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
2
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
23
|
822.000
|
7988.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
3
|
Assam
|
18
|
443.285
|
6630.15
|
-
|
Yes
|
4
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
4
|
320.000
|
DPR under preparation
|
-
|
Yes
|
5
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
6
|
309.000
|
DPR under preparation
|
-
|
Yes
|
6
|
Manipur
|
6
|
488.000
|
5859.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
7
|
Meghalaya
|
10
|
664.860
|
3092.89
|
-
|
Yes
|
8
|
Mizoram
|
3
|
380.000
|
DPR in final stage
|
-
|
Yes
|
9
|
Nagaland
|
4
|
189.000
|
1250.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
10
|
Sikkim
|
4
|
324.000
|
2771.83
|
-
|
Yes
|
11
|
Tripura
|
5
|
255.072
|
1943.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
12
|
Uttarakhand
|
14
|
164.760
|
2554.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
13
|
West Bengal
|
1
|
3.500
|
2000.00
|
-
|
Yes
|
Total
|
99
|
4365.477
|
35088.87
| |||
This information was given by Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
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Eastern Peripheral Expressway
The work for construction of Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) with an estimated cost of Rs 5,763.10 cr. having a length of 135 Kms has already been approved by the Government on Engineering, Procurement and Contract mode in six phases. The bids has already been received and the same is under award. The target date for completion of the entire Eastern Peripheral Expressway is July 2018.
In order to Control the Vehicle pollution, Government has initiated Bharat Stage IV emission norms in different cities since year the 2010. Emission norms are decided taking into account the quality of fuel made available by oil companies and other relevant factors. The cities namely; Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Vapi, Valsad, Ahmadnagar, Lonawala etc. in the State of Maharashtra had already been covered for Bharat Stage IV emission norms for four wheeled vehicle.
In order to Control the Vehicle pollution, Government has initiated Bharat Stage IV emission norms in different cities since year the 2010. Emission norms are decided taking into account the quality of fuel made available by oil companies and other relevant factors. The cities namely; Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Vapi, Valsad, Ahmadnagar, Lonawala etc. in the State of Maharashtra had already been covered for Bharat Stage IV emission norms for four wheeled vehicle.
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Installation of Bio-Fuel Pumps
Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme is already being implemented by Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the notified States and Union Territories as per the availability of ethanol. On 10.08.2015, OMCs have launched Bio Diesel supplies in some retail outlets at Delhi, Vijayawada, Haldia and Vizag. The Government of India vide Notification No.GSR 498(E) dated 16th June, 2015 has permitted use of Bio-Compressed natural gas (Bio-CNG) in motor vehicles, as an alternate composition of the compressed natural gas (CNG).
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Road Projects
The Government has permitted 100% equity divestment after two year of construction completion for all BOT project irrespective of year of award subject to the condition that the equity so divested should be invested by the promoter in their incomplete NHAI projects.
The Government has allowed one time fund infusion for languishing highway projects being implemented on BOT (Toll) mode that has achieved at least 50% physical completion from the corpus earmarked in NHAI for this purpose on a loan basis to be recovered @ bank rate + 2% subject to eligibility of the concerned project. Also the first charge on the toll receivables of the project would be ensured for NHAI through execution of a tripartite agreement between the senior lender, concessionaire and the Authority. This is a one-time dispensation for all BOT (Toll) projects languishing as on 1st November 2014.
The Government has allowed one time fund infusion for languishing highway projects being implemented on BOT (Toll) mode that has achieved at least 50% physical completion from the corpus earmarked in NHAI for this purpose on a loan basis to be recovered @ bank rate + 2% subject to eligibility of the concerned project. Also the first charge on the toll receivables of the project would be ensured for NHAI through execution of a tripartite agreement between the senior lender, concessionaire and the Authority. This is a one-time dispensation for all BOT (Toll) projects languishing as on 1st November 2014.
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Highway Between Rameswaram and Danushkodi
The work of widening of NH-49 to two lane with paved shoulders in selected stretches from km 120/0 (Ramanathapuram) to 183/2 passing through Rameswaram (km 168/0) has already started and is scheduled to be completed in June 2016. Moreover, the construction of new road (Missing link) from km 183/2 to 188/2 (Danushkodi) and km 188/2 to 192/7 (Archianmulanai) of NH-49 to two lane carriageway has also started/awarded and are scheduled to be completed by January 2016 and November 2016 respectively.
The amount is allocated for the State as a whole for all on-going works under NH (Original) and not for any specific project. The allocation for the current financial year 2015-16 is Rs. 167 crores for the State of Tamil Nadu.
The amount is allocated for the State as a whole for all on-going works under NH (Original) and not for any specific project. The allocation for the current financial year 2015-16 is Rs. 167 crores for the State of Tamil Nadu.
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Widening of NH-58
Four-laning of NH-58 from Muzaffarnagar to Nepali Farm is in progress and is being implemented by the National Highways Authority of India(NHAI). Out of 97 Km length, construction of new 2-lane in 43 Km has already been completed. Four-laning of NH-58 from Nepali Farm to Rishikesh is also in progress which is being implemented through PWD, Government of Uttarakhand. These sections of NH-58 is being maintained in traffic worthy condition.
There is delay in completion of four laning work between Muzaffarnagar and Nepali Farm, which is due to delay in land acquisition and financial problem, inadequate plant & machinery and improper planning on the part of the Concessionaire. Based on the progress of work, NHAI has agreed to release a grant of Rs. 210 crore to the Concessionaire for this project out of which Rs. 55 crore has already been released in April, 2015 to expedite the work.
There is delay in completion of four laning work between Muzaffarnagar and Nepali Farm, which is due to delay in land acquisition and financial problem, inadequate plant & machinery and improper planning on the part of the Concessionaire. Based on the progress of work, NHAI has agreed to release a grant of Rs. 210 crore to the Concessionaire for this project out of which Rs. 55 crore has already been released in April, 2015 to expedite the work.
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Millennium City Expressway Private Limited Claim
The Concessionaire of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway (NH-8) has made a claim of Rs. 78 Crore with NHAI (National Highways Authority of India). This claim is on account of loss of revenue and delay in toll rate hike and ban on toll imposed by Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court. The claim is under examination in NHAI.
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