Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 4 National Highway projects in Haryana worth Rs 3,835 crore: A look at national highway construction in India

By: Yash Gupte

Though the central government has been launching new highway construction projects in the country, data shows that the government has been not been able to meet the road construction target in the FY2022-23

In the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and other MPs and MLAs, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stone of 4 National Highway projects at Sonepat, Karnal and Ambala in Haryana worth Rs 3,835 crore. Better access to the economic hubs of Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir will be made possible by the construction of 11 flyovers along the 24-kilometer, eight-lane National Highway 44 from Delhi to Panipat in Sonepat at a cost of Rs. 890 crore. This route will connect industrial and agricultural sectors, easing the movement of goods and finished goods, from Delhi to Panipat.

The Delhi-Panipat corridor will ease the movement of tourists going to and from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The Delhi-Panipat corridor will facilitate travel to and from Jammu and Kashmir as well as to and from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and other states. In Ambala, Haryana, Nitin Gadkari also inaugurated and laid the cornerstone for two NH projects costing Rs. 1255 crore.

Though the central government has been launching new highway construction projects in the country, data shows that the government has been not been able to meet the road construction target in the FY2022-23 and also the construction in April fell 75 percent sequentially to just over 500 km, according to data from the ministry of road transport and highways, indicating a poor start to the government’s road-building target for the year.

On the other hand, 2,250 km of roadways were constructed in March, which might have been the result of government organisations hurrying to meet the goal before the end of the fiscal year. The April statistics cause worry that, in the run-up to the general election, road development goals may be missed for a third straight year in FY24. According to the data, just about 523 km of roadways were being constructed in April 2023, at a rate of just 17.4 km per day, as opposed to the FY24 target of nearly 45 km per day. Even less road construction was done in April 2022 after the third wave of the epidemic, when 578 km of highways were built.

Coming over to the construction of highways in May 2023, the Ministry has constructed 1,465 Km of National Highways during May in 2023-24 as compared to 1,307 km constructed during the corresponding period in 2022-23. The award figure is 382 Km during this period as compared to 496 km during the period in previous year.

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

P C Grover, director general, National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) said, “The highway construction work continues to be plagued by delays in land acquisition at the state level. Most often road projects are taken up by contractors without full clearance (90% as mandated) and this creates hurdles in starting work resulting in lower highway construction as seen for the past couple of years.”

The awarding of projects in the road and highway sector is anticipated to fall off significantly by 25 percent during FY24 in the lead-up to general elections the following year, according to a report by ICRA Research. In contrast to the approximately 12,000 km of roadways awarded in FY23, only about 9,000 km may be awarded in FY24. Before the 2019 general elections, awards declined even more drastically from over 17,000 km in 2018 to only approximately 5,500 km in 2019, following a trend that was also anticipated.

In contrast to the aim of 12,500 km, 10,331 km of roadways were built in FY23, averaging 28.3 km/day of construction. On a target of 12,200 km, only roughly 10,457 km of roadways could be built in FY22, averaging 28.64 km per day. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was unable to complete the planned 12,000 km of highway last year due to Omicron wave disruptions and a prolonged monsoon, and the trend appears to be continuing this year, according to a person familiar with the development. The government has not given a reason for the poor performance in highway construction this year.

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

The data provided by the Ministry revealed that the pace of construction of national highways increased from about 12 km/day in 2014-15 to 36.5 km/day in 2020-21, before dropping to 28.6 km/day in 2021-22 and further dropping to 20.9 km/day in 2022-23.

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, had stated in the monsoon session of the Rajya Sabha that India's road infrastructure will be equal to that of the United States by 2024. Citing instances of how the expressways will cut down on travel time, he had said that the travel time between major cities of India will be cut to less than half. He reiterated his statement recently at the 95^th annual convention of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI). He said that “We are making the world standard road infrastructure in the country and promising you that before the end of 2024, India’s road infrastructure will be equal to the standard of the USA.” But even if the government is committed to the construction of highways and has been working towards reducing the travel time between major cities, the data shows a different reality as the highway construction in India slows down. Also, the data clearly suggests that the central government has miss its target of constructing 12,000 km of national highways in the country.

According to an ICRA report, the central government plans to enhance capital spending and a robust pipeline of projects to accelerate road construction in FY24 by 16–21 percent to 12,000–12,500 km. Though the highway construction in India has witnessed a slowdown, the sincere efforts taken by the government in constriction of highways and expressways across the country cannot be ignored.