Centre steps in to clear barriers as highway projects face delays

A slowed pace of road construction this year has prompted the Centre to undertake a comprehensive review to identify the shortcomings and hasten implementation of national highway projects. According to senior officials in the know, the ministry of road transport and highways has contacted each regional office of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ascertain and address the causes for delayed projects.

"Projects in Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana are facing most delays. Highway projects in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar seem to be doing well," a senior official told ET.

The effort now is to get these going, the official added.

According to official data, 4,060 km of national highways were constructed during the current financial year till October-end. This is 10.7% lower than the 4,550 km built during the same months of fiscal 2021-22. Highway construction has lagged behind 2021-22 numbers in five out of seven months during fiscal 2022-23.

The Centre's focus is now to address bottlenecks pertaining to land acquisition and government approvals that seem to have pushed highway construction into the slow lane.

Delayed financial closure for some road projects has also been highlighted as a reason for the slackened pace of construction.

"There are awarded projects that are yet to be given the appointed date because of these reasons," the official added.

The appointed date signifies the official date for a road developer to start work.

The unexpectedly long rainy season is also cited as a reason for India trailing far behind road construction targets during this year.

In May, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had set a goal of building 18,000 km of national highways for 2022-23. This target will most likely be missed in light of the loss of momentum in the road building sector.

Responding to a query on the same, Gadkari had told ET in an interview last week, "This year, we should be able to do as much as last year in road construction and even surpass it by a km or two".

The annual highway construction numbers declined from 2020-21 highs of 13,327 km to 10,457 km in 2021-22.