An RTI query has revealed apparent discrepancies in the expenditure on the Mumbai-Goa highway project. The information from the central government and the public works department of Maharashtra says Rs 6,000 crore have been spent on the new four-lane highway, while a whopping Rs 192 crore have been spent on repair work already.
This highlights the need for a closer examination of the project’s management and oversight. Mumbai-based RTI activist Jeetendra Ghadge got the information from the public works department (PWD). In fact, last year on October 16, a pillar at the under-construction site of the four-lane highway gave way leading to the collapse of a part of the flyover in Ratnagiri district. While there were no casualties reported, a crane machine at the site was damaged.
Two agencies are responsible for the repair and construction of the 471-km highway from Mumbai to Goa – National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is overseeing work on 84.6 km, and the PWD.
“The PWD was initially reluctant to provide information. But, the NHAI was forthcoming with complete details and disclosed that, since 2013, it has spent Rs 1,779.85 crore on new roads and Rs 145.82 crore on repair work. Additionally, it terminated an agreement with a contractor in 2011 due to a number of defaults,” Ghadge said.
Response to the RTI query says the PWD has spent Rs 2,354.72 crore on the project, with no expenditure reported for repair work. But, the department did not provide information on action taken against contractors for not maintaining the new roads.
The Ratnagiri division of the PWD said from 2018 to 2023, Rs 1,815.85 crore were spent on new roads, while Rs 46.2 crore were spent on repair work from 2011 to 2023. The office also reported that contractors were fined Rs 5 crore and Rs 8 crore for delays in constructing new roads, but it remains unclear if these fines were collected.
“Overall, the data suggests that the PWD is primarily responsible for the delays and substandard work on the Mumbai-Goa highway. The division of work into various packages and the involvement of multiple offices further complicates the issue of accountability,” the RTI activist said.
Ghadge further said more than 2,500 people from the Konkan belt have been killed in accidents on the highway since 2010, which has been under construction for more than a decade. A white paper should be ordered on the work done by the PWD, he added.
“Considering the good work done by the NHAI all over India, it is high time that the Mumbai-Goa highway is entrusted to the central government. Steps must be taken to address this and ensure that public funds are used responsibly and effectively,” Ghadge said.
“The work on the Mumbai-Goa highway has been going on for the last 15 years. It started during our government, but the pace was not that great. Later, the BJP-Shiv Sena government came and did not hold any officer or contractor responsible for the slow pace. In the last 10 years, if the government has spent Rs 6,000 crore, where has the money gone? What work has happened? Because I recently visited Konkan and the condition of the road is pathetic,” said Congress leader Bhai Jagtap, who is from the Konkan region.
State PWD minister Ravindra Chavan was unavailable for a comment.
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