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ROADS IN INDIA
- ARE WE GEARED FOR THE MILLENIUM?
J.D.Powers Report
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IThe
vehicle population in India has grown from 0.3 million
in 1951 to almost 40 million in 1997-98 - more than
a hundred-fold increase. Correspondingly the traffic
on Indian roads has also increased exponentially with
the freight traffic increasing from 6 BTK (billion ton
kilometre) to more than 375 BTK in the same period,
and passenger traffic from 23 BPK (billion person kilometre)
to 1500 BPK.
At the same time growth in the Road Network
in India has not been able to maintain a similar pace
(as is very evident from the table below). In the last
45 years the total length of roads in the country has
increased by 7 times, while length of National and State
Highways (which carry the majority of traffic) across
the country has increased merely 1.7 and 2 times respectively.
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Existing contracts
|
| Year |
Road Network (million kms)
|
Vehicle Population (in million
nos.)
|
Passenger Traffic (billion
person km) |
Freight Traffic (billion
ton km) |
| 1951 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
23 |
6 |
1997 (increase) |
3.0 (7 times) |
37.5 ( 125 times)
|
1500 ( 65 times) |
400 (67 times) |
2001 (estimated) |
- |
54 |
3000
|
800 |
|
Roads are classified
into:
- National Highways
- State Highways
- Major District Roads, and
- Other Roads (which include urban, village and Panchayat
roads)
The National Highways, which account
for more than 40 % of total road traffic, however form
less than 2 % of the total Road Network in the country,
while almost 95% is accounted by District Road and Other
roads. A break-up of the road network in the country
is given below:
|
| Type of Road |
Length (in kms - in 1995)
|
(% of total roads)
|
| National Highways |
34,257
|
1.4
|
State Highways |
1,34,085 |
4.5
|
Other Roads |
28,46,882 |
94.0 |
TOTAL |
30,15,224
|
100 |
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Importance of Roads
The importance of adequate road-infrastructure
for a developing country cannot be over-stressed. In
1951, railway transportation accounted for more than
75 % of the passenger and freight traffic. Today
however, road transportation accounts for more than
85% of the passenger traffic and 65% of the goods traffic.
Inefficient transportation means a loss of international
competitiveness. While commercial vehicles in the country
run, on an average 250-300 kms per day, their counterparts
in the developed countries are able to cover more than
double the distance. The economic losses to the national
exchequer due to sub-standard and inadequate roads are
estimated to be more than Rs. 20,000 crores per annum.
Road Projects - Coming
Up
The Government of India has mooted several projects
to improve road-infrastructure. Two major projects proposed,
which could have a significant impact on road transportation
are given below:
North-South & East-West
Corridors
The ambitious plan envisages two 8-lane 7000-kms expressways
connecting Jammu to Kanyakumari and Silchar to Somnath.
The Planning Commission deputy chairman Mr. Jaswant
Singh, who is also the chairman of the task force on
infrastructure, has said that the Government has identified
30 points all over the country from where the construction
is to commence.
The North-South Expressway goes from Jammu to Kanyakumari
through Delhi, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Coimbatore,
and the East-West Expressway runs from Silchar to Somnath
through Calcutta.
The Golden Quadrilateral
The 5000-km Golden Quadrilateral project seeks to connect
the four metros (Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Chennai) via
National Highways. 77 stretches / routes have been identified
which will connect, apart from the four metros, the
major ports and the major industrial centre en route.
Existing National Highways are to be upgraded from 2-lanes
lanes to 4-lanes and even at certain places to 6-lanes,
depending upon the density of the traffic.
However the modalities
- for execution as well as funding - for the above projects
are yet to be finalized. The total cost of both these
projects is estimated to be more than Rs. 125,000 crores.
The National Budget can contribute around Rs. 3000 crores,
while cess from on petrol and diesel can yield approximately
Rs. 4000 crores more. Thus the Government will
have to come with other options to make these projects
a reality.
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