HOUSE COMMITTEE SHOULD DECIDE FINAL NH ALIGNMENT:PARRIKAR

PANJIM: The state BJP has demanded that the final alignment of the national highway (NH) expansion project should be decided by the 'house committee' set up by the state legislative assembly and not the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Addressing a press conference here on Friday evening, opposition leader Manohar Parrikar said that the house committee must scrutinize all proposals submitted on the NH expansion project.

"When we (opposition) raised the issue in the assembly, we were assured that a house committee would be set up to look into the project," he added.

Parrikar also said that all aspects of the NH expansion project must be looked into before its approval is granted, including the provision of underpasses and overpasses where required.

The Panaji MLA distributed copies of a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application in which the NHAI has stated that the 'final alignment plan for the stretch of the NH 17 from Hotel Green Park, Guirim, to the Mandovi bridge will be decided by an in-house committee once the resurvey committee submits its report to the government'.

Parrikar also criticized the proposed levying of toll on motorists who will use the new expanded highway. (TNN)