EMERGING TRENDS IN ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

AND PUNJAB

By Anisha

ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE India has the second largest road network across the world at 4.7 million km. This road

network transports more than 60 per cent of all goods in the country and 85 per cent of India’s total passenger traffic.

Roads are the lifeline of a country and are basic infrastructure for  eceonomic,industrial, Commercial, social and cultural development of a country.

Road transportation has gradually increased over the years with the improvement in connectivity between cities, towns and villages in the country.

In India sales of automobiles and movement of freight by roads is growing at a rapid rate.

Cognizant of the need to create an adequate road network to cater to theincreased traffic and movement of goods, Government of India has setearmarked 20 per cent of the investment of US$ 1 trillion reserved for infrastructure during the 12th Five-Year Plan(2012-17) to develop the country's roads.

Market Size

The value of roads and bridges infrastructure in India is projected to grow at aCompound Annual Growth Rate of 17.4 per cent over FY12-17.

The country's roads and bridges infrastructure, which was valued at  US$ 6.9billion in 2009 is expected to touch US$ 19.2 billion by 2017

The construction of highways had reached an all-time high of 6,029 km during FY 2015-16, and the increased pace of construction is expected to continue for the coming years

The financial outlay for road transport and highways grew at a CAGR of 12.5 percent in the period FY10-16.The plan outlay for 2016-17 stepped up budgetary support for Road Transport and Highways to Rs

  97000crore (US$ 14.45million)

Infrastructure Sector

Sub-Sector Coverage

Transport Road Transport Roads & bridges, tunnels, motor vehicles

Rail Transport Railways, signalling, communication system, railyards, stations

Inland Water Transport Inland waterways, inland watervessels

Sea and Coastal Transport

SeaportsShips and other vessels

Air Transport Airports, aircrafts

KEY INVESTMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTSThe NationalHighways Authority of India is planning to acquire 10,000hectares of land in FY 2015-16, up from 6,733 hectares in FY2014-15, to speedup road laying in the country.The Government of India plans to award 100 highway projects under the Public-private Partnership mode in 2016, with expectations that recent amendments inregulations would revive investor sentiments in PPP projects in the infrastructure sector.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has permitted 100 per cent equitydivestment by private developers after two years of construction completion forall Build-Operate-Transfer projects, irrespective of the year of award of theproject.The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has undertaken development of about 7,000 km of national highways under Bharatmala Pariyojana at anestimated cost of Rs 80,000 crore in consultation with state governments.

WORLD BANK SUPPORT AND NHDP The World Bank has been a major investor in the

transport sector in India. At present, it has ten projects in transport portfolio which include seven state road projects and one each for national highway, rural road and urban transport with total loan commitments for the transport sector in India as US$3.48 billion. The main activities include:

National Highway Development Project The World Bank is financing highway construction

on the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur corridors. It is also involved in other sector activities such as improving road safety

Rural Roads Program: The project supports the PMGSY in providing all weather roads to villages in four states – Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

PMGSY (PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA) In order to create durable and permanent assets, an adequate provision

for drainage and protection works as well as quality control during construction and maintenance of assets, Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on 25th December, 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to assist the States. The primary objective of PMGSY is to provide connectivity by way of an All-Weather road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected habitations as per Core Network with a population of 500 persons and above in plain areas. The current source of funds for PMGSY works is cess on High Speed Diesel (Rs. 0.75 / litre), budgetary support, ADB funding, World Bank funding and NABARD loan.

A total amount of Rs.1,11,368 have already been spent under this program including funding from World Bank and Asian Development Bank. It is increasingly essential to ensure that roads already created are systematically maintained and yield services as originally envisaged before going on undertaking more such assets. Keeping in view the asset value of the road network, PMGSY-II has been launched.

State Roads Projects: State Highways are being upgraded in the states of Kerala, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh,  Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Mumbai Urban Transport Project: The project aims to improve transportation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region by fostering the development of an efficient and sustainable urban transport system - suburban rail, bus and link roads - and building effective institutions.

Sustainable Urban Transport Project: The project aims to promote environmentally sustainable urban transport in various cities and support implementation of the India National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP).

INVESTMENT PROJECTION

The investment projection for 12th plan period stands at Rs. 5574663.0 crore as compared to Rs. 2424277 crores during 11th plan period as shown through figure 4.3. The sub sector with highest investment of 1502 thousand crores is electricity, followed by 944 thousand crores in telecommunications, 914 thousand crores in roads and bridges, 519 thousand crores in railways and 504 thousand crores in irrigation.

(Rs Crore at Current Prices)

Total

Eleventh

Plan

Twelfth Plan

Projections

Total

Twelfth

Plan

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

Roads & bridges 453121 150466 164490 180415 198166 221000 914536

Railways 201237 64713 78570 96884 121699 157355 519221

MRTS

(Mass Rapid

Transport System) 41669 13555 17148 22298 29836 41322 124158

Airport 36311 7691 10716 15233 21959 32116 87714

Ports 44536 18661 25537 35260 49066 69256 197781

Electricity 728494 228405 259273 294274 333470 386244 1501666

Non-conventional

energy 89220 31199 42590 58125 79095 107637 318626

Oil & Gas Pipelines 62534 12211 16604 23833 36440 59845 148933

Telecommunications 384962 105949 136090 176489 230557 294814 943899

Irrigation(including

watershed) 243497 77113 87386 99178 112506 128186 504371

Water Supply &

Sanitation 120774 36569 42605 49728 58084 68333 255319

Storage 17921 4480 6444 9599 14716 23202 58441

Total 2424277 751012 887454 106136 128553 1589308 5574663

(*Source: Twelfth five year plan (2012-2017), Volume1, Planning Commission http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12thplan/pdf/12fyp_vol1.pdf)

MODERN TRANSPORTATION…

The major means of transportation now a days are:

Railways

Road ways

Air ways

RAILWAYS

Indian Railways is one of the largest railways under single management.

It carries some 18 million passengers and 2 million tons of freight a day and is one of the world’s largest employer.

The railways play a leading role in carrying passengers and cargo across India's vast territory.

The trains were introduced by the British in 1853.

The Indian railways improved a lot from then on to become the one of the longest railway networks in the world.

There are 16 railway zones in India.

There are almost 8000 railway stations in the country.

ADVANTAGES OF RAIL TRANSPORT

It facilitate long distance travel and transport of bulky goods which are not easily transported through motor vehicles.

It is a quick and more regular form of transport because it helps in the transportation of goods with speed and certainty.

It helps in the quick movement of goods from one place to another at the time of emergencies like famines and scarcity.

The carrying capacity of the railways is extremely large.

ROAD TRANSPORT…

Roads are the dominant mode of transportation in India today.

They carry almost 90 percent of the country’s passenger traffic and 65 percent of its freight.

Air transport

AIR TRANSPORTATION…

Air transport in India started between Allahabad & Naini (township in Allahabad) in 1911

Airport authority of India was established on April 1, 1995

The Air India, has become the 16th largest airline in asia, presently operates a fleet of 159 aircraft serves 50 domestic & 39 international routes

The other airlines such as Kingfisher Airlines, Air India and Jet Airways are the most popular brands in domestic air travel in order of their market share.

Advantages of Road transport Advantages of Air transport

Less capital outlay Fastest mode of transport

Door to door service Easy transport of costly and light goods

Service in Rural areas Minimum cost

Lesser risk of damage in transit  Free from physical barriers

Chance of pilferage are lesser than railways

Useful in natural calamities

DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN PUNJAB Public transport in Punjab is provided by buses, auto

rickshaws, Indian railways and an international rail connection to Pakistan (Samjhauta Express). The state has a large network of multimodal transportation systems.

Punjab has six civil airports. The Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar and The Chandigarh International Airport in Mohali are the two international airports of Punjab.

Other airports in Punjab are: Bathinda Airport Pathankot Airport Patiala Airport Sahnewal Airport

Almost all the major cities as well as smaller cities of the state are linked by railways. Amritsar is the largest railway station, having trains connecting to all major cities. The Shatabdi Express connects Amritsar to Delhi. The railway junction in Bhatinda is the largest in Asia. The Shatabdi Express connects New Delhi to Bathinda.

The Samjhauta Express is a joint venture between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways and runs from Attari railway station near Amritsar in India to Lahore Railway Station in Punjab, Pakistan.

All the cities and towns of Punjab are connected by four-lane national highways. The Grand Trunk Road, also known as "NH1", connects Kolkata to Peshawar, passing through Jalandhar and Amritsar. Another major national highway connects Punjab to Jammu, passing through Hoshiarpur and Pathankot. National highways passing through the state are ranked the best in the country with widespread road networks that serve isolated towns as well as the border region. Ludhiana and Amritsar are among several Indian cities that have the highest accident rates in India.

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee international Airport in Amritsar, Punjab

DMU Train in Ludhiana, Punjab

Punjab Roadways bus

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

The positive contribution of physical infrastructure to economic growth anddevelopment comes through increases in investment, employment, output, andincome

Infrastructure development does leads to economic growth and affects theoutput significantly.A one percent increase in the stock of infrastructure is associated with a onepercent increase in GDP. It is well recognized fact in the extensive literature thatinfrastructure provisions have an important link with productivity, economicgrowth and finally the well-being of the people.

The importance of infrastructure goes far beyond its impact on growth.

Lack of such infrastructure facilities is considered to be a major structuralweakness, which holds back to underutilization of existing productive capacityand constrain, that may have unfavourable impacts on profits and productionlevels adversely.

Weak and inadequate infrastructure leaves the country backward and allows itspeople to stagnate in poverty and a lower standard of living.

PROBLEMS FACED BY ROAD TRANSPORT IN INDIA

Most of the Indian roads are un-surfaced (42.65%) and are not suitable for use of vehicular traffic. The poor maintenance of the roads aggravates the problem especially in the rainy season.

According to an estimate there is about per year loss of Rs. 200 crores on the wear and tear of the vehicles due to poor quality of roads. Even the National Highways suffer from the deficiencies of inadequate capacity, weak pavement, poor riding quality, distressed bridges, unabridged level crossings, congested cities (lack of by-pass roads), lack of wayside amenities and safety measures.

One major problem on the Indian roads is the mixing of traffic. Same road is used by high speed cars, trucks, two wheelers, tractors, animal driven carts, cyclists and even by animals. Even highways are not free from this malady. This increases traffic time, congestion and pollution and road accidents.

There are multiple check-posts, toll tax and octoroon duties collection points on the roads which bring down the speed of the traffic, waste time and cause irritation to transporters. Rate of road taxes vary from state to state and inter-state permits are difficult to obtain.

There is very little participation of private sector in road development in India because of long gestation period and low-returns. The legislative framework for private investment in roads is also not satisfactory. The road engineering and construction are yet to gear themselves up to meet the challenges of the future.

There has been no stability in policy relating to highway development in the country. It has changed with the change of government. There are a number of agencies which look after the construction and maintenance of different types of roads. Since there is no co-ordination between these agencies their decisions are often conflicting and contradictory.

There is shortage of funds for the construction and maintenance of roads. Instead of giving high priority to this task the percentage allocation has decreased over the years

SOME HELPFUL MEASURES

Development of Additional Road Capacity

Traffic management measures  Concrete roads Parking restrictions  Proper planning of roads Promoting Public Transport Encouraging Walking