Roads & Building Department Government of Gujarat
Annexure:
Projects on BOOT basis
Transportation plays a principle role in Economic and general development. A well laid out road network is essential for efficient and cost effective movement of men and materials, without which trade and industry cannot maintain a competitive edge.
At the present juncture, when the country is witnessing phenomenal all round growth as a result of economic restructuring, an efficient and dependable Road Infrastructure is absolutely crucial and needs to be accorded overriding priority.
There has been a tremendous increase in the share of road transportation vis a vis rail over the last four decades with the total freight movement increasing from 11% to 60% and the passenger movement from 26% to 80%. In other words, our economy which was earlier rail dominated, has now become predominantly road dominated.
In so far as the State of Gujarat is concerned, the road network has registered an eight fold increase from a mere 7622 Kms (1947) to 70609 Kms (1995).
Even though the existing road network in Gujarat is qualitatively rated as the best in the country, it is grossly insufficient, and is in need of major upgradation and improvement in order to meet with the present transportation needs.
Recognising this fact, Government of Gujarat has decided to accord special priority to road development and to revamp the road policy with a view to effectively meet with the challenging task ahead.
Composition of Roads
The total length of roads in Gujarat State has increased from 45,108 kms in 1980 to 70,609 kms in 1995, of which, the surfaced road length has increased from 29,895 kms to 64,028 kms over the same period. As a proportion of total road length, surfaced road length was increased from 66.27% in 1980 to 90.67% in 1995. The growth in surfaced road length approximately at an annual rate of 5.2% which is quite significant, has been primarily driven by the growing importance of the road transport system in the movement of passengers and goods.
Of the total road length, in 1995, Gujarat has 1,570 kms of National Highways, 19,655 kms of State Highways, 20,364 kms of Major District Roads, 10,355 kms of Other District Roads and 18,665 kms of Village Roads. The National Highways network in Gujarat is in very good condition. The State has undertaken four laning of important sections of National Highways with the provision of Paved shoulders where necessary. In fact, of the total stretch of 375 kms of the National Highway connecting Ahmedabad to Bombay, about 166 kms have been four lane and the entire length has been provided with paved shoulders. Over the last decade and a half, the proportion of State Highways and Major District Roads in the total road length has increased significantly.
| | LENGTH IN KMS |
| Category/Year | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 |
| NH |
1435 |
1421 |
1572 |
1570 |
| SH |
9097 |
9387 |
16430 |
19655 |
| MDR |
10542 |
11195 |
21931 |
20364 |
| ODR |
10671 |
12330 |
10022 |
10355 |
| VR |
13463 |
23512 |
15610 |
18665 |
| TOTAL |
45108 |
57845 |
65565 |
70609 |
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Vehicle Density
Over the last decade and a half, registered motor vehicles have grown at an annual rate of approximately 14%, resulting in a three fold increase in the overall vehicle density. On the State Highways, vehicle density has increased from 50 to107 vehicles per km. Passenger buses have recorded a two fold increase, two wheelers have increased seven fold, passenger cars three fold and goods vehicles three fold. |
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Technological Upgradation
Gujarat has traditionally been known for its good road transport system and has probably the best maintained road network in the country today. The Roads and Building Department has continuously endeavored to acquire modern technology for road construction to meet the rapidly growing demands on the road transport system. Gujarat was the first state to take up road construction using hot mix plants and pave finisher since the early seventies and even village roads in Gujarat are now mechanically constructed. The State has more than 100 hot-mix plants of which, 10 modern hot-mix Plants and pave finishers are owned by the Roads and Buildings Departments itself. The State has since long introduced modern specifications like wet mix macadam, dense bituminous macadam, and asphaltic concrete. It has also introduced other modern machinery like vibratory rollers, wet-mix macadam plants, motor graders, full width sensor paves, etc. |
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Plan Outlay
Plan outlay on Roads and Bridges has increase progressively from Rs.2200 million during the Sixth Plan to Rs.2578 million during the Seventh Plan and Rs.3500 million during the Eighth Plan. The provision of funds for maintenance of State Roads has also increased from Rs.904 million in 1991 to Rs.1695 million in 1994-95. |
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Connectivity
The initial thrust of the Five Year Plans has been towards achieving village connectivity. Out of 18,028 villages in the State, only 1,090 villages remain to be connected by all weather roads. All villages are planned to be connected by all weather roads by the end of 1997. |
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World Bank assisted Gujarat Rural Roads Project
The State Government has very recently successfully completed a Rs.350.00 crores World Bank Assisted Rural Road Project, wherein about 6100 Kms of new construction/reconstruction and improvement of rural roads have been completed in 13 out of 19 districts in the state. This is probably the most successful World Bank assisted Road Project in the country to date. |
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Road Development Plan
The total length of roads proposed to be developed according to the Gujarat Road Development Plan for 1981-2001 has been divided into the following categories, for which the total development cost works out to Rs.20094 million. |
| | LENGTH IN KMS |
| Category | New Construction | Improvement | Total |
| | | Widening | Surface Improvement | |
| NH |
34.40 |
628.90 |
769.05 |
1459.35 |
| SH |
1421.48 |
7776.22 |
6516.83 |
15714.53 |
| MDR |
1819.10 |
3888.48 |
14353.73 |
20061.31 |
| ODR |
1444.33 |
10.30 |
7499.86 |
8953.69 |
| VR |
8491.60 |
--- |
11203.44 |
19695.04 |
| Total |
13210.91 |
12003.90 |
40369.11 |
65833.92 |
Though Gujarat has a better maintained road system than all other states, the tremendous increase in traffic has created a grave disparity between the carrying capacity and demand. As a result, there is a pressing need for immediate remedial measures in the form of strengthening and capacity augmentation. The deficiencies are likely to be further compounded due to the following reasons.
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About Rs.500000 million worth of new industries are already in various stages of installation in the state. |
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The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Project, the largest water resources development
project in India and probably in the world, providing Irrigation benefits to about 18 lacs hectares spread over 18 districts and with an installed capacity of 1450 MW is expected to be fully operational in the next few years. |
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Development of ports is expected to generate very huge interstate traffic. |
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Rail Transport System
The share of Railways in movement of passengers as well as goods has been persistently declining. This is primarily due to the higher flexibility of road transport. The total railway network in the state comprises 2457 kms of broad gauge. 2523 kms of meter gauge and 874 kms of narrow gauge. However, upgradation to broad gauge and consequent switching over to a unigauge system that has been taken up countrywide, would prove very helpful. The inter modal approach of the road policy incorporates tapping the full potential of railway network, particularly for long distance haulage. |
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Ports
Gujarat is a maritime state with a coast line of about 1600 kms which accounts for almost 30% of the country's total coast line. Of the 139 minor and intermediate ports in the country, 40 are located in Gujarat with Kandla being the only major port in the state. The ports of Gujarat influence a vast area extending over central, western and northern India. This vast hinterland offers tremendous potential for ports development. The minor and intermediate ports of Gujarat handle about 8.5% of the national shipping cargo and 70% of the total cargo handled by all minor ports of India. The present as well as projected traffic from the ports has been accounted for in the formulation of the road policy. Three major corridors for movement of port traffic have been identified.
They are as below : |
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Ports around the Gulf of Kutch linked to the northern states through NH 15 and NH 14. |
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Ports in southern Saurashtra connected to Ahmedabad. |
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Ports in South Gujarat linked to the proposed Vadodara-Bombay Express Way. |
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The basic aim of all the developmental policies of Government is to work towards rapid economic and social upliftment, while simultaneously ensuring that the growth achieved is balanced, and the accruing benefits are evenly spread.
The road Policy is structured for providing an efficient road network across the length and breadth of the State so as to effectively meet with the transportation needs of every sector, cost effectively and with the right inter modal mix.
Connectivity and easy access being basic to all other developmental activities, a conscious effort has been made to integrate the backward and far flung areas into the road network.
The objectives of the road policy could be summed up as follows : |
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To provide connectivity to all villages by all weather roads by the end of 1997, and thus, further improve quality of life in rural areas, in terms of quick access to health services, better education, social services, etc. |
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To provide an adequate and efficient road system encompassing all transportation needs so as to ensure smooth and uninterrupted flow of goods and passenger traffic both within the State as well as on interstate routes. |
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To constantly upgrade technology by inducting superior and quicker construction and maintenance methods with a view to reducing the total transportation cost as well as to reduce the overall life cycle cost of roads. |
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To induct more scientific principles of resource allocation for maintenance and new construction programs. |
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Overall, to set high standards of road safety and travel comfort. |
| I |
Removing the deficiencies in the existing road length by an optimal combination of widening and strengthening of selected stretches/corridors. |
| II |
Providing new links particularly in areas of concentrated industrial growth and to speed up the movements of agricultural and dairy products. |
| III |
Providing missing bridges and cross drainage works. |
| IV |
Connecting the remaining villages by all weather roads. |
| V |
Replacing existing level crossing by road overbridges. |
| VI |
Improvement of road geometric and safety provisions. |
| VII |
Removing regional imbalances in the road network. |
All this calls for massive capital investment which cannot possibly come from any single source of funding. It is, therefore, envisaged to adopt a multi pronged strategy for resourcing funds for the purpose.
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Optimal use of available resources
Government has carefully prioritised the investment programme in road infrastructure so as to ensure efficient use of resources. Routes have been prioritised for widening/strengthening on the basis of commercial traffic, both existing and projected. The angle of inter-model efficiency is specifically accounted for in the planning. |
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Privatisation
In view of the acute paucity of budgetary resources, it has been decided to go in for private funding of road projects in a big way. A list of carefully selected projects is being prepared for the purpose.
The state is geared up to facilitate private funding and all basic spade work for it has been done. The main provisions made are briefly as under: |
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Enabling Legislation
To facilitate private sector participation in road projects, the Gujarat Government has amended the Bombay Motor Vehicles Act, 9 of 1994, which permits the levy of toll on either new construction or strengthening/improvements of road and bridge projects. A comprehensive set of rules which would provide further guiding framework to facilitate private sector participation is under finalisation. The relevant portion of the modified Act is kept as Annexure-C.
Guidelines framed for private sector participation are enclosed as Annexure-B. |
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Procedure for Selection of Party
Parties will be selected on the basis of open competitive bidding ensuring transparency and equal opportunity to bidders. Selection will be based on evaluation of bids by a high level empowered committee set up for the purpose. |
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Incentives
To ensure commercial viability of road projects, an appropriate combination of the following incentives can be considered by the State Government. |
| 1 |
Acquiring land at Government cost for right of way. |
| 2 |
In cases, wherever levy of toll alone is not enough for ensuring financial viability, Government could consider providing additional land to the investor for commercial development so as to augment returns. |
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Granting advertisement and air space rights within the right of way. |
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Subsidising loss of revenue due to traffic being less than that projected. |
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Exemption from royalty on construction materials. |
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Granting permission for plantation of trees and deriving revenue thereof in the land width during concession period. |
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Utilisation of Government quarries in the vicinity of the project. |
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Allowing construction in segments and levying of toll on completed segments so as to utilise the toll revenue to complete the remain segments. |
| 9 |
Government/Government Corporation's equity participation in Special Purpose vehicles formed for individual road projects. |
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Funds from external funding agencies
In view of the huge backlog in upgradation of existing roads, substantial use of funds from external lending agencies has been planned. |
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Schemes with beneficiaries participation
The State Government has already adopted a policy of taking up industry specific roads with the beneficiary industries bearing 50% to 70% of the cost, the remaining being borne by the Government. A good number of works have been already taken up and completed on this pattern. |
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Resource mobilisation
The State Government is examining alternative sources of revenue for road development and this could include a special levy on fuel. |
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Funding by Philanthropists
The State Government has also developed a scheme to involve philanthropists and the general public in undertaking the construction and improvement of rural roads wherein they would meet 75% of the cost and balance would be contributed by the Government. |
Implementation
Implementation of the road policy would be done by the Roads and Buildings Department through a special implementation cell for ensuring speedy disposal.
The State Government will set up a high level committee headed by the Chief Secretary to review the progress and implementation of the road policy.
The progress made on the implementation of the policy will be periodically reported to the Infrastructure Development Board of the State Government.