All roads don’t lead to growth

Context: Union Budget 2021-22 (hailed as “infrastructure” budget) ignores the important aspect of “mobility” (that has major societal implications).

Some measures in Union Budget 2021-22 for enhanced road connectivity

• Increased allocation for Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways: 30 % increase (from Rs 92,000 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 1,18,000 crore this year)
• Presented an Outcome Framework: 12,000 km of highways are planned for this year.

Concern: No mention of mobility or the measure of the state of the road network is provided in the Budget.

• With an allocation of Rs 30 crore last year, or about 0.05% of its outlay, this particular detail must have escaped attention.

Proposed ways to measure the state of the road network/mobility

• The Mobility Index (MI): It measures the average speed of the typical journey and the quality of roads and congestion. Its unit is kilometres/hour (kmph)
• Excess Distance Index (EDI): It is the ratio of distance travelled to the straight-line distance. It measures the connectivity and density of the road network.
• Thus, for a region, an MI of 33 kmph and an EDI of 1.2 tells us that the speed of the average journey is 33 kmph and that it is about 20 per cent longer than the straight-line distance. 

Importance of mobility: exemplified by a case study of Tamil Nadu (TN), Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• Tamil Nadu as an outlier: With high MI (at 52kmph) and best EDI, it is no surprise that it is a preferred destination for industries. Its benefits -
  • Better performance in most indicators connected with roads.
  • Higher per capita state domestic product.
  • More non-farm workers of both genders – due to far more women travel.
  • More women travel in TN than in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
• Maharashtra as the sufferer: low rural speeds of 33 kmph and intercity mobility at 40 kmph. In EDI, Maharashtra is at the bottom with 52% extra travel in the rural areas and 26% in intercity travel.

Conclusion: There is more to roads and welfare than just money! And, unless care is taken, the infrastructure budget may well become a subsidy and support budget, albeit for a different class of people.