New Delhi, Oct 4 — The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will organise a two-day Chintan Shivir on October 5 and 6 at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat's Narmada district, bringing together senior representatives from the Centre, state governments and implementing agencies to deliberate on key issues related to the development and delivery of highway infrastructure across the country, it was announced on Sunday.
The inaugural session on October 5 will be addressed by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, along with Ministers of State Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra.
The event is expected to serve as a platform for discussions on improving project implementation, enhancing coordination among stakeholders and identifying solutions to challenges facing the highway sector.
Road Transport and Public Works Ministers from various states, senior officials of state public works departments, implementing agencies and other stakeholders have been invited to participate in the conclave.
The ministry said the gathering will help strengthen Centre-State coordination while facilitating the exchange of field-level experiences, best practices and practical solutions for infrastructure development.
According to the ministry, the Chintan Shivir will focus on identifying implementation bottlenecks and exploring innovative and replicable approaches, along with policy and institutional measures aimed at improving project delivery, quality, safety and operational efficiency in the highway sector.
The two-day event will feature five thematic sessions covering PM GatiShakti and integrated infrastructure planning, land acquisition and the Bhoomi Rashi platform, model concession agreements and ratings, highway safety, and quality assurance and project monitoring.
Discussions on PM GatiShakti are expected to focus on improving coordination and integrated planning across infrastructure sectors. The land acquisition session will examine challenges affecting project execution and explore ways to ensure smoother implementation of highway projects.
Meanwhile, deliberations on model concession agreements and ratings will focus on contractual and implementation-related issues, while the session on designing safe highways will examine measures to strengthen road safety considerations during planning and development.
Another session dedicated to quality assurance and project monitoring will discuss steps to improve project oversight, construction quality and overall outcomes.