The length of access-controlled National High Speed Corridors in India, which include Expressways, has increased from a mere 93 km in March 2014 to around 5,110 km at present, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament on Thursday.
Out of the 5,110 km length, 2,636 km has already been operationalised, the minister told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question.
The total length of India's National Highways (NH) network has expanded from 91,287 km in March 2014 to 146,342 km at present, the minister also said in his reply.
There has also been a marked acceleration in the pace of highway construction in the country over the last 11 years, from 12 km per day in 2014-15 to a peak of 34 km per day in 2023-24 and 29 km a day in 2024-25.
Currently, as many as 1,240 national highway projects across a length of 29,400 km are under construction in the country with an investment of Rs. 7.8 lakh crore, Gadkari said.
The minister also said that the Centre has taken up about 54,004 km of state roads, including state highways (SHs) and greenfield stretches across the country, after notifying them as national highways since April 2014. This has enabled the Centre to expedite the pace of highway development.
The government receives proposals from various state governments and UTs from time to time, for the declaration of state roads, including SHs, as new National Highways. Decisions are taken based on the broad principles of declaration of National Highways, requirement of connectivity, traffic density, inter-se priority and synergy with PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP), the minister said.
At present, 206 under-construction NH projects costing about Rs. 91,290 crore are delayed in Rajasthan and in the northeastern states, including Assam, with the completion of the majority of these projects in a phased manner scheduled for 2025-26 and only a few projects expected to spill beyond 2026-27. Out of this, one NH project being constructed with an investment of Rs 410 crore, passes through Jalore district in Rajasthan with targeted completion in 2025-26, the minister added.
(With inputs from IANS)
