Widening of national highway in Rajasthan has become a sore point between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Union Transport and National Highway Minister CP Joshi.
According to party source, the tussle between these two leaders is more of political than administrative one. Some senior Congress leaders said that the issue may come up during party vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s two-day visit to the State, beginning on Wednesday.
Instead of resolving the issue informally through meetings, Gehlot shot off several letters to Joshi asking him that if his Ministry was not in position to take up the widening of some of the national highways; it should de-notify them thus enabling the State Government to carry out the work.
The Union Highway Ministry had issued a notice for widening 106-kilometre stretch of national highway between Bar and Jodhpur. However, the Union Ministry did not start work despite several reminders by the State Government. Gehlot has recently sent a strongly worded letter to Joshi, asking him to de-notify the project. It said the State Government would make this four-lane road on its own.
In November last, Gehlot had sent a similar letter to Joshi pointing out delay in widening of Jaipur-Delhi national highway. Slow pace of making this six-lane road, has created problem and it witness long jams frequently, Gehlot said.
It is not only Gehlot who is criticising Joshi for delay in widening national highways passing through the State.
Only in last month a major company backed out from about Rs 750-crore project to widen the Kishangarh-Udaipur stretch of national highway. Since Joshi belongs to Udaipur, he was keen to start the work at the earliest.
Widening of road was required to acquire some land, which belong to Forest Department. The Transport Ministry sent several reminders to the State Government urging it to arrange the Forest Department clearance for the same.
But despite these reminders, nothing moved in the Government. Some party leaders felt that the delay in acquiring the land for widening of this road was deliberate.
The State Government initiated the process to get the clearance of Forest department only when the company, who was awarded the contract, intimated the Union Transport Ministry saying that since land was not made available to it in the stipulated time, it was not in position to take up the project. Joshi squarely blamed the Gehlot Government for not taking timely action to make this land available.