National Highway Authority (NHA) has reduced revenue utilization on rehabilitation and routine maintenance of its network and resultantly major highways and motorways are deteriorating. According to officials' documents, the NHA collected Rs 23.269 billion of revenue from toll plazas on national highways and motorways in 2018-19 compared to Rs 20.878 billion in 2017-18 and Rs 18.720 billion in 2016-17.
The Road Maintenance Accounts (RMA) rules state that NHA shall maintain a commercial non-lapsable account in Pakistani scheduled banks designated as Roads Maintenance Account. All revenues from road users accruing to the NHA from the following sources shall be expeditiously transferred into the Roads Maintenance Account, namely:- (a) Tolls on roads and bridges; (b) road use related fines (e.g. overloading, traffic offence); (c) axle load charges; (d) supplementary heavy vehicle fee; (e) international transit fees; and (f) border fees.
During the last six years (2013-19), the NHA utilized Rs 15.467 billion on routine maintenance of its network. The NHA utilized Rs 2.662 billion of its revenue on routine maintenance of its network in 2018-19 compared to Rs 3.657 billion in 2017-18. Further revenue of Rs 666.113 million was utilized on rehabilitation of its network in 2018-19 compared to Rs 958.96 million in 2017-18. The NHA utilized a total of Rs 4.689 billion during the last six years (2013-19).
According to sources, the NHA has a network of around 13,000 km, but due to short allocations and releases it is facing difficulties in carrying out routine maintenance and rehabilitation. The deteriorating condition of road networks is also one of the reasons behind the increasing number of accidents, they added.
Justice Gulzar Ahmed during a hearing pointed out the deteriorating situation of roads in the federal capital. He said one fears of running into a footpath while driving on the Kashmir Highway.
He also pointed out the deteriorating situation of the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway and inquired: "Is this what we call a motorway? Its condition is worse than a regular road." Justice Ahmed said that in all traffic accidents on the highways, the NHA chairman should be included because the police maintain that accidents occur due to the deteriorating condition of the road.
Parliamentarians in the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Communications have repeatedly raised the issue of deteriorating condition of national highways and motorways. Senator Ashok Kumar recently stated that condition of roads in Balochistan is very poor, adding N-40, an important Pak-Iran route, is in bad condition. Senator Usman Khan Tarakai of PTI also expressed serious reservations over the deteriorating condition of Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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