Roads are a vital infrastructure, and despite improvements, the sector still needs efforts to upgrade the quality as well as length of India's national highway network," said Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today. The Prime Minister was taking a review of the road sector, and he desired that action be initiated to bridge the deficit in both quality and quantity. The meeting was attended by Sh Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister, Sh CP Joshi, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Sh Montek Singh, Dy Chairman, Planning Commission, and Sh Jitin Prasada and Sh Tusharbhai Chaudhary, Ministers of State in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. Sh TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, and Sh Ajit Seth, OSD, Cabinet Secretariat, also participated in the meeting.

Since 2004-05, 26883 kms of national highways have been completed, against 8918 kms in the 5 years preceding this period. Greater transparency in projects is being implemented with the placing of concession agreements on the NHAI website. The Ministry will also introduce e-tendering in August 2011, and will launch project monitoring through GIS-based satellite imagery from September 2011.

While the Ministry has set a goal of awarding 7300 km of national highways projects in 2011-12, Prime Minister said that he expected them to exceed this target. While appreciating the increase in the works awarded last year, the Ministry was asked to prepare a shelf of projects of around 10,000 km, and another 15000 kms be taken up for preparation of detailed project reports. The decision making process needs to be speeded up at each stage.

The Prime Minister flagged the need to strengthen the organisations involved in this gigantic task, especially NHAI. Re-structuring of NHAI should be implemented quickly, and all vacant posts need to be filled up.

Dr. Manmohan Singh also directed special attention to projects in areas with poor connectivity, especially J&K, North east and the Left wing extremism affected areas.

The Prime Minister also stressed upon the need to ensure that public is not inconvenienced when new works are being undertaken, and that alternate roads and detours should be safe and adequate to handle the traffic. With monsoons around the corner, the stretches under construction and upgradation should be given special attention.