The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India has come forward to counter assertions made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), dismissing claims that the construction cost for the pioneering Dwarka Expressway project was exorbitant. The CAG had flagged the decision of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to construct an elevated carriageway on the Haryana segment of the project, noting that this choice led to a notable surge in the projected construction expenses.
In response, a ministry official has voiced a perspective that diverges from the CAG’s findings, suggesting that the CAG’s evaluation overlooked essential considerations such as land acquisition, bridge, and tunnel expenses – all of which constitute a substantial fraction of the project’s overall costs.
The ministry official, speaking under the cover of anonymity, underscored that all four sections of the Dwarka Expressway were tendered at an average civil cost of ₹206.39 crore per kilometer. Yet, the contracts were ultimately awarded at a rate lower than the initial estimation, amounting to ₹181.94 crore per kilometer. This, in effect, resulted in commendable cost savings compared to the preliminary projections.
The official’s argument gains momentum as they elucidate that the CAG’s estimated figure of ₹18.2 crore per kilometer was derived by dividing the comprehensive construction cost of ₹91,000 crore under the all-encompassing National Corridor Efficiency Programme by the entire stretch of 5,000 kilometers under active development. However, this calculation starkly overlooks numerous pivotal costs inherently intertwined with the project’s intricacies.
The release of the CAG’s audit report on the implementation of the ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana’ highway projects did not transpire without political reverberations. Opposition parties seized upon the opportunity to levy allegations of corruption in the project award process, thereby injecting a tincture of controversy into the scenario. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has acknowledged the necessity of having furnished its perspectives on the CAG’s observations during the report drafting phase.
Notwithstanding this, the ministry remains resolute in its intention to communicate its standpoint to the CAG. Moreover, the ministry is committed to submitting comprehensive comments as the issue is deliberated within the purview of the Public Accounts Committee.
