MHA favours BRO over PWD
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 12, 2013:
Even as BRO is set to be relieved from the duty of constructing and maintaining Imphal-Jiribam highway (NH 37) from March 31 next year and the State Government is planning to hand over the highway to PWD, the Ministry of Home Affairs has suggested that it would be more appropriate to keep the highway under BRO's care.
A well placed source informed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently consulted MHA asking if it would be appropriate to hand over the highway to Manipur PWD.
To this, MHA suggested that it would be more appropriate to keep the highway under BRO's responsibility.
In the aftermath of former Home Secretary GK Pillai's tour of the North East region including Manipur and subsequent grant of some packages, it appeared that the Ministry of Home Affairs was taking greater responsibility for the region.
It was keeping in view this seeming involvement of MHA in the region that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways consulted the MHA regarding transfer of NH 37 to the care of Manipur PWD.
In spite of the MHA's suggestion, the State Government is yet to receive any definite response from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The question of whether PWD takes over NH 37 or BRO retains it has little relevance to the people of Manipur.
What matters is, developing the highway to the level of a standard highway.
The MHA may have its own reasons for its suggestion to keep the highway under BRO's care but BRO's performance which has been maintaining the highway since the 1970s is far from satisfactory, remarked the official.
BRO has been constructing and maintaining the highway by outsourcing their work to different companies for the past many decades.
In case the highway is handed over to State PWD it would allot contract works to different contractors for construction and maintenance of the highway.
What matters most is allotment of contract works to sincere, efficient and capable contractors.
Nevertheless, the State Government needs to keep a watchful eye over the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways with respect to any steps taken up by the two Ministries regarding who would be given the responsibility of maintaining NH 37 and see that the State's interest is not compromised, added the source.