National Highway Work Goes Slow: MoRTH Aims to complete over 300 projects This Year

With less than a year for the Lok Sabha polls, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) aims to complete as many as 310 national highway projects, however, the pace of road construction is yet to gain momentum in this financial year, official data analysed by News18 shows.

This year, up to June 30, the ministry managed to build just 2,250 km of national highways – making it 25 km of road construction per day, against the target of 37 km per day.

MoRTH sets construction targets on a financial year basis and during this financial year, the ministry aims to build about 13,800 km of national highways.

Speaking to News18, a ministry official said that based on the progress and scheduled and revised date of completion, as many as 310 projects have been identified for completion from now to December 2023. “Usually, during the first half of the financial year, the pace of road construction is slower due to the monsoon. This year, too, we are witnessing heavy rain in various parts of the country, which has impacted the pace of road building,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

Of the 310 projects, the highest (44) are in Maharashtra, followed by 23 in Rajasthan. Among the crucial projects that will be completed this year are sections of the Delhi-Mumbai Highways, Delhi-Dehradun expressway, Urban Extension Road and Dwarka Expressway in Delhi and the Coastal Road project in Mumbai.

The six-lane greenfield Udaipur bypass will also be completed by September, the official added.

MISSING TARGETS

MoRTH managed to construct only 10,993 km of national highways during the last financial year, falling around 15% short of the target of 12,500 km.

In 2021-22, too, the ministry had missed its construction targets, as it built 10,457 km of national highways, against the target of 12,000 km. In 2019-20, against a target of 11,000 km, the ministry managed to construct 10,237 km.

The year 2020-21 was an exception when the ministry surpassed the target. Against a target of 11,000 km for the year, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed for weeks, the ministry built 13,227 km of national highways.