Roadblocks to growth

INDIA'S UBIQUITOUS ROAD system is a network of paradoxes. In quantitative growth terms it is immense. Yet, qualitatively much remains to be done. The principal cause for the failing has been inconsistency in policy and the continuing inability to grapple with a situation of finding the required funds. As the principal mode of connectivity between any two places, the road network has indeed registered a substantial growth during the past five decades. The increase from a mere 0.4 million km in 1950-51 to a total of 3.2 million km in 1995-96 is no doubt a significant achievement. Yet, to translate the quantitative increases into commensurate rises in the national output, the need of the hour is a comprehensive overhaul of the existing network. The seemingly impressive quantitative rise in the length of the road network, however, would not translate into much given the fact that as much as 43.47 per cent of these roads are unsurfaced. While the National Highways and the State Highways constitute about 52,000 km and 1.3 lakh km respectively, other roads, district, rural and urban, constitute about 2.8 million km. Seen against the backdrop of an explosion in vehicular traffic, there is a clear strain on the road network. That the National Highways, which constitute barely two per cent of the total network, carry about 40 per cent of the total freight traffic is ample illustration of the tremendous pressure on this crucial infrastructure. The time has come for policy-makers to move into high gear.

It is in this backdrop that the recent hope held out by the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Maj. Gen. (retd.) B. C. Khanduri, that the Golden Quadrilateral project will be completed by the year 2003, is to be seen as a part of a larger overhaul of the country's roads system. The high profile project, which seeks to correct some inadequacies in terms of networking as well as quality, has indeed been bolstered by recent efforts to mobilise resources in the open market to the tune of Rs. 6,650 crores. Required legal changes have also been made to facilitate the entry of the private sector. Still there are several conceptual issues that require to be squarely addressed. The willingness of the road-users to pay tolls is one such. In addition, much depends on the extent to which the private sector would be enthused by the attractive incentives offered to complete the project by the time limit, which has been advanced by a year, without compromising on quality. While there is optimism at the Ministry on the resource mobilisation front, it would still be in order if innovative plans are also in place to meet shortfalls that may manifest if the market mobilisation expectations go awry.

Notwithstanding the optimistic tone expressed - of spending Rs. 60,000 crores to develop nearly 14,000 km of expressways - finding the resources is bound to be an uphill task. The release of funds from the cess on petrol and diesel to the tune of Rs. 5,800 crores will no doubt provide some comfort. Still, much of the resources would have to be negotiated with international lending institutions. In addition, cost escalations during the period of implementation are to be factored in. Even while the grandiose plans are on for the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South, East-West corridors, encompassing a total length of 13,252 km, it would be in order to accord importance to other roads, including those that are feeders to these arteries. Also important is the attention that should be accorded to the maintenance of the roads that are not a part of the project. The shortfall in resource allocation to this ongoing task, which now receives only 40 to 60 per cent of the funds required, needs to be corrected. Unless comprehensive correctives are in place and the roadblocks removed, inadequacies in transport will continue to stifle India's economic growth.

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