Nitin Gadkari Unhappy with Project Delays Due to Environmental Clearances

Expressing his review updates on nation's road infra projects, Union Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari expressed displeasure over inordinate delays in according environmental clearances to projects, saying it causes hindrances in the execution of works.

Observing that files seeking environment and forest clearances are sometimes stuck for as long as two years, Gadkari said “by then the bank (sanctioning the loan) runs away and the account turns NPA (non-performing asset)”.

The union MSME minister said there was “no time clause” for according time-bound clearances, causing delays in giving no-objection certificate to projects.

Addressing a webinar on higher education organised by industry body Ficci, Mr. Gadkari — who also holds road transport and highways portfolio —exhorted Indian educational institutions to forge industrial tie-ups and collaborate with foreign universities to attract overseas students for increasing their economic viability and mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on them.

Gadkari also highlighted government plans to form joint ventures in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, upgrade technologically and attract foreign investment.

Stating that there are 1.5 lakh deaths in 5 lakh road accidents in the country every year, the minister also proposed that students from IITs and other engineering institutes could be engaged in carrying out road audits to identify “black spots” through assessing various defects in road designing including curves and traffic density.