New Delhi: National-highway construction in April totaled 523 km, or 174 km per day, due to unseasonal rain, making it the slowest start to a fiscal year in the previous six years, with the exception of 2020, when a pandemic-induced lockdown had halted the majority of the activity in the nation, a business newspaper reported.
The busiest time for building is often from March to June due to the favorable weather and economic climate. However, there were several rainy periods throughout April around the nation.
Due to many back-to-back weather systems, a significant portion of the nation, with the exception of the eastern and northeastern regions, suffered a lengthy wet period beginning on April 21–22. No location in India recorded a heat wave between April 21 and May 7, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). According to predictions, this pattern will become less frequent in the upcoming months. This would imply that road building would pick up more quickly in May and June to make up for the slowness in April, before the monsoon arrives. The Indian monsoon has been adversely affected by the El Nino phenomenon this year.
The statistics obtained in March, when the ministry reportedly built 78 km of roadways per day, according to reports, indicate a sharp decline in the April national highway data. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways chose not to formally release the statistics since it seemed to be a bit of a stretch. It reportedly also conducted an examination of the data to determine the causes of the unexpected increase in numbers. One was a delay in data updates related to construction.
The Center has been aiming for at least 40 kilometers every day for years, but recently fell short. The government has been making an effort to maintain the pace after reaching an all-time high in 2019–20 at 36 km per day, although it finished the following fiscal year at 26–29 km per day.
(Source- Business Standard)
