Synopsis

Over ten thousand kilometers of high-speed corridors have been awarded nationwide. Nearly five thousand kilometers of these corridors are now completed and operational. Another five thousand kilometers of highway projects are currently under active implementation. Rajasthan leads with the most completed high-speed corridor length. Various government initiatives are streamlining project execution and land acquisition processes.

New Delhi: A total of 10,389 km of National High-Speed Corridors have been awarded across the country, of which 4,809 km have been completed, and 5,580 km are under implementation, the government informed Parliament.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a written reply submitted by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Lok Sabha, said "Government has established a framework for regular review of the progress of all on-going National Highway works including National High-Speed Corridors and Greenfield Expressways."

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"This involves review at project, State and Central level in the Government involving all stakeholders including the State Government," he stated.

"This also involves technological intervention to identify issues/hindrance/delay at project level including under PMG (Project monitoring group) portal," he added.

According to state-wise data provided by the ministry, Rajasthan leads the completed length of high-speed corridors at 1,192 km out of a total awarded 1,340 km. Haryana follows with 615 km completed out of 839 km awarded, while Gujarat has completed 605 km out of 764 km awarded.

Meanwhile, Punjab has 774 km currently under construction out of 923 km awarded, Bihar has 589 km under construction out of 589 km awarded, and Andhra Pradesh has 585 km under construction out of 893 km awarded.

Work is yet to start in 1,022 km of approved National High Speed Corridors.

"To expedite project execution, the Government has undertaken various initiatives," Gadkari noted.

"These include streamlining and expediting land acquisition using 'Bhoomirashi' portal and GIS-based Land Acquisition Plan, revamping 'Parivesh' Portal through Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to facilitate faster forest and environmental clearances," he added. "Enabling online approval of General Arrangement of Drawings (GAD) of Road Over Bridge/Road Under Bridge (ROB/RUB) from the Railways, and leveraging the mechanism of review and resolution of bottlenecks/hindrances in ongoing projects, in active collaboration with the State Governments and other stakeholders."

The ministry further stated that the government sanctioned a 32 km 4-lane access-controlled highway to connect Vadhavan port with the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway and NH-48 (Ahmedabad-Mumbai section).

The project was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 4,362.39 crore under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode, and the work has already been awarded.