HUMAN PLAY-NET

At a time when the state of Uttar Pradesh is making headlines for various highways projects, including the completed and under-construction expressways, the UP Public Works Department has also undertaken a number of initiatives related to road construction and otherwise in its bid to pitch in for the cause of state’s development. In a recent interaction with outgoing Principal Secretary of Public Works Department , Nitin Ramesh Gokarn , ETGovernment tried to know about their initiatives, understand how the department is going to make up for the man-days lost to the pandemic, technology adoption for faster execution of the projects and much more.   Having served as Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department for over three years from 27th June 2019 to 1st May 2022, Gokarn took over the charge of Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Planning Department on 1st May 2022.   Edited excerpts:   How would you describe the present roads and highways scenario in Uttar Prad...

Robust infrastructure is a pre-requisite for national development, economic growth and improving the lives of citizens. That being the reason, creation and expansion of infrastructure, like roads and highways, railways network, ports and logistics, and waste management mechanism, has always been at the centre of economic activities. However, following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns slowed down the construction activities for various reasons, including shortage of workforce, lack of demand and of course shrinking of funds availability, among others. It was only following various timely interventions from the government that the economic activities started picking up as the pandemic went on the wane. But, in the wake of the emergence of Omicron variant of Covid towards 2021-end and possibilities of more such variants impacting various businesses in the days ahead, infrastructure sector players look forward to more provisions for them in the Union Budget 2022. ...