By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued orders that all steel – whether produced from ore, billets, pellets or melting of scrap – would be allowed to be used for National Highway construction, as long as it meets the standards required for specific grades of steel.
The steel proposed to be used would be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as a third party check before approval. The move is based on the analysis and discussions with stakeholders and also technical opinion.
Earlier, the contract provisions required use of steel produced by primary/integrated steel producers only. In view of the increase in steel prices, which can impact the cost of building national highways, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari had suggested the need to re-look at all conditions which could be restrictive, without impacting the quality of material used for highway construction.
With this step, the supplier base for steel used in the construction of national highways would increase, leading to more competition and better price discovery by the markets. This is also part of the continuous effort by the Minister to reduce costs through use of new technology, reducing restrictions on suppliers and making the procurement system transparent.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza” w.e.f midnight of 15th/16th February 2021.Therefore, as per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTagentering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category.
In a statement issued , the Ministry has clarified that this has been done to further promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas. The Ministry had mandated fitment of FASTag in M&N categories of motor vehicles with effect from 1st January 2021.
Category ‘M’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers.And Category ‘N’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying goods, which may also carry persons in addition to goods.
