“The Mumbai-Goa highway has been under construction for years. The project was originally expected to be completed much earlier, yet motorists have continued to endure unfinished stretches, diversions, bottlenecks, dangerous road conditions and the frustration of a journey that should have become easier long ago. Gadkari has now said that the project is around 93 to 94 per cent complete and that he intends to inspect its progress personally in October.
That is welcome. But after years of delay, the people deserve more than another inspection.
Gadkari has indicated that contractors responsible for poor performance could face blacklisting and that officials could face suspension. This is precisely where the government must now move from words to action.”
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is right to be angry. He is right to say that he feels ashamed about the prolonged delay in completing the Mumbai-Goa National Highway. But anger, disappointment and even public admission of shame cannot be the end of the matter.
The question that must now be asked is far more uncomfortable: who is accountable for this colossal delay?
The Mumbai-Goa highway has been under construction for years. The project was originally expected to be completed much earlier, yet motorists have continued to endure unfinished stretches, diversions, bottlenecks, dangerous road conditions and the frustration of a journey that should have become easier long ago. Gadkari has now said that the project is around 93 to 94 per cent complete and that he intends to inspect its progress personally in October.
That is welcome. But after years of delay, the people deserve more than another inspection.
Gadkari has indicated that contractors responsible for poor performance could face blacklisting and that officials could face suspension. This is precisely where the government must now move from words to action.
If contractors have failed, they must be held accountable under the terms of their contracts. If officials have failed to monitor the work, enforce deadlines or take timely action against defaulting contractors, they too must answer. If there were repeated extensions, inadequate supervision, contractual failures or administrative lapses, these should not disappear into files once the road is finally completed.
Heads must roll where responsibility is established.
There is an important distinction between political accountability and scapegoating. Nobody should be punished merely because a project was delayed. But neither should officials and contractors escape responsibility when an independent examination establishes negligence, dereliction of duty or contractual failure.
The Mumbai-Goa highway is not an ordinary local road project. It is a critical economic artery connecting Mumbai with Goa and the Konkan region. Thousands of people depend on it every day. Businesses depend on predictable travel. Tourism depends on connectivity. Transport operators depend on reliable roads. Most importantly, ordinary citizens have paid the price of the delays through lost time, fuel costs, traffic congestion, vehicle damage and, in some stretches, serious safety concerns.
For years, the public has heard assurances that the work would be completed soon. Deadlines came and went. What should have been a symbol of modern connectivity became a symbol of how infrastructure projects can get trapped between contractors, bureaucracy, land issues, execution problems and administrative delays.
That is why Gadkari’s latest statement should become a turning point.
The minister should not merely ask why the highway was delayed. The government should publish a clear accountability report identifying the reasons for every major delay and the agencies, contractors and officials responsible for each failure. Where wrongdoing or negligence is established, action should follow.
There should also be a clear completion schedule for every remaining stretch. The public should not have to wait for another round of promises.
Gadkari has built a reputation for demanding faster execution of highway projects. His admission that the Mumbai-Goa highway delay has become a matter of shame makes the issue even more significant. If the Centre is serious about setting records for blacklisting non-performing contractors and suspending officials, the Mumbai-Goa highway provides the opportunity to demonstrate that accountability is not merely a statement made at a public function. (The Indian Express)
The message must be simple: public infrastructure cannot be delayed indefinitely without consequences.
Completing the highway is important. Completing it safely and properly is even more important. But after completion, there must also be an honest accounting of why the project took so long.
The people of Goa and the Konkan have waited long enough for the road.
They should not have to wait equally long for accountability.
Gadkari has said he is ashamed of the delay.
Now let the system show that it is capable of being accountable for it.
