Regime’s own records show dismal road progress

In the run-up to a difficult general election, the Congress-led UPA regime has been keen to portray itself as the harbinger of development and progress in the country. But it really has to more than splurge on an expensive advertisement campaign as no number of PR spins can turn around the story of UPA's mis-governance that is told unequivocally by official facts and figures, put out, ironically, by its own Government agencies. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in the last 10 months, only 2,700km of roads had been built across the country — which is less than 40 per cent of the 6,300km target set for the 2013-2014 fiscal that expires in less than two months. This is not surprising given that the average construction rate this fiscal has been only 1.5km a day, as against the original target of 21.10 km per day. The figures for new project awards are even more dismal. The Government has sanctioned less than 10,000kms of road this fiscal, which is a paltry 14 per cent of the 2013-2014 target. In other words, there is no way the UPA regime can realistically deliver on its promises on the ground.

And so, it has expectedly gone back to doing what it does best these days: Fudging facts and blurring figures so as to window-dress its so-called achievements. For instance, the Government, having failed to build new highways, has now decided to merely paste the fancy label on existing roads. last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decided to declare 7,200 km of State Highways as National Highways. While this pushes up the UPA regime's contribution to the National Highway network to 17,000km, it remains unclear how the Union Government plans to maintain the roadways which it now takes over from State Governments. Similarly, the UPA regime, in a desperate bid to get done some of its much-touted ‘development' work on election eve, has also diluted several environmental and forest norms. On direct orders from the Prime Minister's Office, road builders have been given several concessions that have made green clearances redundant, bypassed pro-tribal laws (ironically, put in place by the UPA regime itself) and sidestepped norms regarding road quality and safety. This is yet another instance of the UPA regime sacrificing the long-term interests of the nation to secure short-term electoral advantages.