Gebruiker:Dr.emmettbrown/test1
De Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is het grootste Autosnelweg project in India bedacht door voormalig premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Het is de eerste fase van het zogenaamde "National Highways Development Project" (NHDP), en omvat de aanleg van 5846 kilometer 4 of 6 baans doorgaande snelwegen welke Delhi (stad), Bombay, Calcutta en Madras (in de vorm van een vierhoek) en kost ongeveer Rs. 60,000 Crores (ongeveer € 9500 miljoen) (prijspeil 1999). Er zijn bijna geen op- en afritten behalve in sommige gebiedenn-ramps, off-ramps, and exits are largely absent except in certain areas, although safety features such as guardrails, shoulders, and high-visibility signs are used. The National Highways Authority of India has produced statistics to indicate that, as of September 2007, 96%[1] of the entire work has been completed. However, these statistics appear to be misleading: in practice, roadworks are still a major feature of certain sections of the Golden Quadrilateral. For example, the statistics indicate that the Delhi to Mumbai section is 100% complete, whereas in reality there are a number of sections which are still single carriageway and in very poor repair (for example the stretch to Ahmadabad in Gujarat). The whole project is a few years behind schedule, due mainly to issues with the various states about giving up land for the national highway and the termination of several contracts which take 6 months to be issued.[2] In January, 2008 it was announced that the project will now be expanded to cover 6,500 kilometers, some portions of which will be developed into eight lanes.
The GQ project is managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the first controlled-access toll road to be built in India is a part of the GQ Project though not funded by NHAI. Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has been one of the major contributors to the infrastructural development activity in the GQ project.
Economic benefits
bewerkenThis highway will interconnect many major cities and ports. It will give an impetus to truck transport throughout India. It will help in the industrial growth of all small towns through which it passes. It will provide vast opportunities for transport of agricultural produce from the hinterland to major cities and ports for export. In addition, it will provide job opportunities in its construction as well as demand for cement, steel and other construction materials.
Controversies and charges of corruption
bewerkenThe project involves an enormous outlay of funds and has been the focus of several charges of corruption. In August 2003, project director Satyendra Dubey, in a letter to the Prime Minister, outlined a list of malafide actions in a segment of this highway in Bihar. Dubey claimed that the contractors for this stretch were not executing the project themselves, but had sub-contracted the work to small builders who lacked technical expertise. This would lead to substandard work, he claimed. Within months of this whistleblowing action, Dubey was brutally assassinated in Gaya, Bihar. It is not clear that any action was taken by NHAI on the more germane issues raised by Dubey.
In February 2006, a 600 meter stretch of the highway connecting Kolkata to Chennai subsided into the ground, opening up ten meter gorges near Bally, West Bengal 2. This stretch had been completed a year back by a Malaysian multinational firm, selected after global tendering.
Current status
bewerken| No. | Route | National Highway No. | Length Completed (km) | Total Length (km) | Percent Completed (%) | As of (date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Delhi-Kolkata | NH-2 | 1431 | 1453 | 98.48 | 30 Sep 2008 |
| 2. | Chennai-Mumbai | NH-4 / 7 / 46 | 1264 | 1290 | 97.98 | 30 Sep 2008 |
| 3. | Kolkata-Chennai | NH-5 | 1584 | 1684 | 94.06 | 30 Sep 2008 |
| 4. | Mumbai-Delhi | NH-8 / 76 / 79 | 1419 | 1419 | 100 | Nov 2006 |
| 5. | TOTAL G.Q | - | 5669 | 5846 | 97.12 | 2 Jun 2008 |
Major cities
bewerkenThe completed Golden Quadrilateral will pass through many major cities throughout the length and breadth of India.
Delhi-Kolkata
bewerken- Delhi
- Faridabad
- Mathura
- Agra
- Etawah
- Bhoganipur
- Kanpur
- Allahabad
- Varanasi
- Mohania
- Barhi
- Asansol
- Durgapur
- Baidyabati
- Kolkata
Kolkata-Chennai
bewerken- Kolkata
- Kharagpur
- Baleshwar
- Cuttack
- Bhubaneshwar
- Berhampur
- Srikakulam
- Vizianagaram
- Vishakapatnam
- Tuni
- Rajahmundry
- Tadepalligudem
- Eluru
- Vijayawada
- Guntur
- Ongole
- Nellore
- Gudur
- Chennai
Chennai-Mumbai
bewerken- Mumbai
- Panvel
- Pune
- Satara
- Kolhapur
- Belgaum
- Hubli-Dharwad
- Haveri
- Davangere
- Chitradurga
- Sira
- Tumkur
- Bengaluru
- Hosur
- Krishnagiri
- Vellore
- Ranipet
- Walajapet
- Kanchipuram
- Chennai
Mumbai-Delhi
bewerkenFuture Plans
bewerkenSections of NH-2, NH-5 and NH-8 have now been prioritized for further widening to six lanes under DBFO (Design, Build, Finance, Operate) pattern and more sections would be six-laned in the near future.
See also
bewerkenFurther reading
bewerken- Fast Lane to the Future, Don Belt. National Geographic, October, 2008.
External links
bewerken- 'Mile by Mile, India Paves a Smoother Future' - extremely detailed New York Times article, dated December 4, 2005 (free registration required)
- "Golden Quadrilateral still has miles to go" - Financial Express article dated August 26, 2005
- Official website of the National Highways Authority of India
- Map of GQ progress on the NHAI website
- NHAI Road Information System
- Ministry of Road Transport
- Pictures of Indian Highways - mainly the Golden Quadrilateral