A CAG audit of Bharatmala projects put the cost of Dwarka Expressway at about Rs 250 crore per km. It compared this with the Rs 18.2 crore per km figure used when the programme was approved, which set off a political row.
The road ministry responded that Bharatmala was approved as an overall outlay, not project by project, and that Rs 18.2 crore per km was only a normative planning figure. It said the approved civil cost for the four packages was Rs 206.39 crore per km, and the awarded cost was Rs 181.94 crore per km.
The ministry pointed to the eight-lane elevated road on single piers, India's first four-level interchange and the eight-lane tunnel. It noted that special projects with long bridges, viaducts and tunnels average about Rs 152 crore per km under Bharatmala.
What it means for buyers: the dispute was about public spending, not about whether the road would be built. It explains why the 'Rs 250 crore per km' figure still comes up whenever there is a problem on the corridor.
