Nitin Gadkari slams non-performing officials over delay in completion of NHAI building

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday came down heavily on non-performing government officials in the national highways authority of India (NHAI) who have been either delaying projects or posing obstacles in works. While inaugurating NHAI's new building in Nagpur, the union minister expressed surprise that the construction of the NHAI building took nine years and said the photographs of officials responsible for the delay should be displayed in the building.

"Photographs of officials responsible for the delay should be displayed in the building so that people came to know about the great personalities who took nine years to construct a building," Gadkari said through video conferencing.

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'Matter of shame'

The union minister further said that it was a 'matter of shame' that the Rs. 250 crore-project that was finalised in 2008, had its tender awarded back in 2011, took another nine years to construct the building. He added that two governments and eight chairmen had passed through the organisation while the building was under construction. The current chairman and members are unrelated to it, the Union Minister said, however, the 'great personalities' who worked on it from 2011 to 2020, If possible, their photos should be put up in the building as they delayed decisions for nine years, he said.

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Highway authority needs urgent reforms

The government says with pride that it will complete the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in two to three years whose worth is 80,000 to 1 lakh crore, but it took so many years to complete this project of Rs 250 crore, the Union Minister said. Gadkari further said that the national highway authority needs urgent reforms and the time had come to act against the non-performing employees.

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Double-decker Flyover In Chennai

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday also said that the Centre has proposed to build a double-decker flyover connecting Chennai Port with other vital locations in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. This would reduce traffic congestion in the city to a great extent, he said.

The Union minister of road transport and highways, who was on a private visit to the city, said work on the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway would also commence soon. During his brief interaction with Chief Minister K Palaniswami, Gadkari suggested that the flyover be designed as a double-decker one by bringing in international consultants in place of four lanes as planned earlier.

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(With PTI inputs)