New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will erect about 1,500 billboards with pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi every 25 kilometres on the national highways.
A circular has been issued to all its Project Directors regarding provision of display boards at 25 km interval on both sides alternatively in English, Hindi and the local language.
In response to an RTI query, the NHAI said out of the total of 1,488 such billboards, a maximum of 282 will be on national highways in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand, 249 in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana and 214 in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A total of 170 display boards are planned in Andhra Pradesh, 126 in Maharashtra and Goa, 120 in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 108 in West Bengal and Orissa and 91 in Karnataka and Kerala. While 70 billboards are proposed to be put in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and 58 in Assam and other North-east States.
The display boards are to be provided at the cost of the contractor or concessionaire and NHAI will not incur any expenditure on this account, the reply said.
According to NHAI, the board of size 20 ft (horizontal) x 10 feet (vertical) shall be fixed in row portion.
"Photo-publicity of political rulers and other living personalities including through media-advertisements at public-expense should be altogether banned to prevent misuse of public-money for image-projection of leaders for political purposes," RTI applicant Subhash Chandra Agarwal said in the petition.
The double-side boards are expected to cost roughly Rs 4 lakh each, according to industry estimates. In case of projects involving four-laning of say 1,000 km, the developer will have to pay Rs 1.6 crore for setting up 40 such boards. During the concession period of 20 or 30 years as fixed under the contract, the onus of maintaining these boards will be on the private developer.
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So now Public money is being used to build BOARDS not roads!!
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Source-
http://www.zeenews.com/news593287.html
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Needed-Photos-of-Sonia-PM-every-25-km-of-national-highway/546380/
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2 comments for this post
It’s shameful on part of PM and Congress party who are using the public money, which should be used to improve the pathetic condition of Roads across NH.
The golden quadrilateral project, which was started by NDA, a brainchild of Mr.Vajapayee, then PM, was marred by petty politics of congress, when they returned to power with UPA partners. The project was stalled and NHAI become a mess, which was incidentally fall under one of the best department in NDA re
After, drama of shading Business class travel and opting for "COW class" with full media contingent, the real face was exposed with freebies to Ministers for Air-travel with full family and friends, at the expense of tax-payers money.
Our Democracy and feudal mind has to be blamed for this mess!!
Public has to suffer for their sins!!(Of choosing a devil- congress)