homeeconomy NewsDespite being a pre poll year, Roads Ministry to spend most of its Rs 2.7 trillion budget in CY23
Despite being a pre-poll year, Roads Ministry to spend most of its Rs 2.7 trillion budget in CY23
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Anurag Jain, Secretary to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the ministry expects to spend 80 percent of its Rs 2.7 trillion budget by December 2024, adding that by mid-June, approximately Rs 96,000 crore has already been spent, demonstrating a proactive approach towards project execution and financial management.
For the past 2 years, Indian economy has been boosted by capex spending by the central government. In the FY23-24 budget, the government has budgeted to spend 3.3 percent of the Gross domestic product (GDP) or over Rs 10 trillion on capex. The Road Ministry is an important part of this thrust with a budgeted expenditure of Rs 2.7 trillion of which capex support to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is Rs 1.6 trillion.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Anurag Jain, Secretary to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the ministry expects to spend 80 percent of its Rs 2.7 trillion budget by December 2024, adding that by mid-June, approximately Rs 96,000 crore has already been spent, demonstrating a proactive approach towards project execution and financial management.
He said, “In the first quarter, our target was Rs 102,000 crore against that last week when we reviewed, we had already crossed Rs 96,000 crore. So, we are going as per the target, and as per the target we will be crossing 80 percent by December itself.”
Talking about road construction, Jain said that the Ministry aims to achieve a remarkable target of 40 km of road construction per day. Secretary Jain expressed optimism in achieving this goal, emphasizing that substantial progress has already been made. Moreover, it is anticipated that around 13,000-14,000 km of roads will be awarded this year. An interesting aspect to note is that 80 percent of the new projects will be implemented under the hybrid annuity model, indicating a favourable trend toward innovative financing mechanisms.
When asked about FASTag System and toll revenues, he said that the implementation of the FASTag system has brought about significant positive changes in toll collection. Secretary Jain highlighted that a staggering 98 percent of total toll collections are now made through the FASTag system.
However, according to him, challenges persist in land acquisition and forest clearances. Secretary Jain acknowledged these issues and stated that the Ministry will provide the appointed date of a project only after 90 percent of land acquisition has been completed.
“Now what we are targeting is that all that is being we are attempting will give the appointed date for a project only after 90 percent of the land is available in EPC mode or 80 percent in the HAM mode and once that happens so a substantial piece of land is available. So even if you are awarded, the appointed date may come later but thereafter the pace of execution is much faster,” he said.
For more details, watch the accompanying video
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
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