NEW DELHI, 24 May 2007 - Corruption in road construction is "spreading like cancer", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday, and hoped that government programs like Bharat Nirman could be implemented in a transparent manner.
"A major reason for poor quality roads is corruption," he said while inaugurating the National Conference on Rural Roads, organized by National Rural Roads Development Agency, an autonomous agency under the Ministry of Rural Development and Construction Industry Development Council. As rural roads' connectivity promotes access to economic and social services and facilitates rural economy growth, expansion of rural network will have wider positive impact on development, well-being and welfare of people, Manmohan said.
He said: "I am concerned about the fact that we invest millions of rupees every year on road construction and maintenance, and yet with every monsoon our roads get damaged."
Stressing the need for improving quality benchmarks for roads, he added: "Corruption in road construction projects has spread like cancer to every corner of our vast country. I sincerely hope we can implement both the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Bharat Nirman without this affliction, and in a transparent and accountable manner."
"Inter-state comparisons also show that expenditure on rural connectivity has a robust negative correlation with rural poverty. Some micro-level studies also show that villages having good all weather road connectivity record better attendance of schoolteachers and doctors, paramedical personnel at their workplaces.
"Expansion of the rural road network, therefore, can have a wider positive impact on development, well-being and welfare of the people," Manmohan said.
