Lok Sabha Question No. 3381 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Expansion of Highway Networks
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne, Smt. Bharti Pardhi

be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  expansion  of  the  highway  network  contributes  to economic growth and development and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the manner  in which the Government  prioritizes  highway construction  in  various  regions  of the country,  particularly in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  challenges  in  maintaining  the  vast  network  of  national highways across the country;
- (d)  the  systems  established  to  ensure  proper  maintenance  of highways after the construction phase;
- (e)  the  measures  being  taken  to  improve  road  safety  and  reduce accidents on highways; and
- (f)  the  future  plans for the development of highway rest areas and other facilities and the status of their execution?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)      Infrastructure  sector is  the  prime mover of the economy and contributes to the faster economic  growth and development.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3381

ANSWERED ON 20 TH  MARCH, 2025

## EXPANSION OF HIGHWAY NETWORKS

†3381.  SMT. BHARTI PARDHI: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

National Highways (NH) network length in the country has increased from 91,287 km in March, 2014 to 1,46,204 km at present. With increased budgetary allocation over the years, quality of roads has improved substantially. Length of 4 lane and above NH network has increased by 2.5 times from about 18,371 km in 2014 to about 48,430 km. Also, proportion of less than 2-lane NHs has decreased from  30%  to  9%  of  the  total  NH  network.  National  High  Speed Corridors  (HSCs)  /  Expressways  in  about  2,474  km  length  have already been operationalized.

The above developments have increased the regional connectivity  and accessibility  to  the  NHs  across  the  country including increased logistic efficiency.

- (b) Development  and  maintenance  of NHs  is a continuous process.  Works  on  NHs  are  accordingly  taken  up  based  on  the traffic  density,  condition  of  the  road,  inter-se  priority  and  synergy with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP). At present, 1,310 NHs  projects  in  31,187  km  length  costing  ₹8.11  Lakh  Crore  are under construction in the country. State / Union Territory (UT) - wise details  of  such  works,  including  for  the  State  of  Madhya  Pradesh (which includes Balaghat district), are at Annexure-I.
- (c)  and  (d)  The  Government  has  prioritized  the  maintenance  of existing NH network and inter-alia evolved a mechanism to ensure Maintenance and Repair (M&R) of all NHs sections through accountable maintenance agency.

The M&R of stretches of NHs, where development works have commenced or Operation, Maintenance and Transfer (OMT) Concessions/  Operation  and  Maintenance  (O&M)  Contracts  have been awarded, are the responsibility of the concerned Concessionaires/  Contractors  till  the  end  of  the  Defect  Liability Period  (DLP)/  the  Concession  Period.  Similarly,  for  NHs  stretches undertaken  under  TOT  (Toll Operate  and  Transfer) and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment  Trust), M&R  responsibility lies with concerned Concessionaire till the end of the Concession Period.

For all remaining sections of NHs stretches, Government has taken  a  policy  decision  to  undertake  maintenance  works  through Performance  Based  Maintenance  Contract  (PBMC)  or  Short  Term Maintenance Contract (STMC).

- (e) Government  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to address  the  issue  of  road  safety  based  on  Education,  Engineering (both  of  roads  and  vehicles),  Enforcement  and  Emergency  Care. Details  of  various  initiatives  to  address  road  safety  issues  are  at Annexure-II.
- (f)      The Government envisions development of Wayside Amenities (WSAs) at approximate intervals of 40-60 km along NHs. Government in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has planned to award around 700+ WSAs. Total 393 WSAs have been awarded so far, out of which 94 are operational. Out of the 94 operational WSAs, 59 are equipped with trucker facilities and 50 with Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging stations. Additionally, 100 sites have been allocated to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for the development of trucker facilities.

## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3381 ANSWERED  ON  20.03.2025 ASKED  BY  SMT.  BHARTI  PARDHI  AND  SHRI  SHRIRANG  APPA CHANDU BARNE REGARDING EXPANSION OF HIGHWAY NETWORKS

State / UT - wise details of NHs works under construction, including for the State of Madhya Pradesh (which includes Balaghat district):-

|   Sl. No. | State                                    |   No. of Works | Length (in km)   | Cost ( ₹ Cr)   |
|-----------|------------------------------------------|----------------|------------------|----------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh                           |             97 | 2,378            | 55,661         |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh                        |             18 | 356              | 4,227          |
|         3 | Assam                                    |             59 | 1,054            | 36,093         |
|         4 | Bihar                                    |             67 | 2,143            | 64,766         |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh                             |             41 | 1,384            | 15,181         |
|         6 | Goa                                      |             20 | 37               | 1,549          |
|         7 | Gujarat                                  |             40 | 1,205            | 36,132         |
|         8 | Haryana                                  |             20 | 549              | 20,015         |
|         9 | Himachal Pradesh                         |             31 | 586              | 17,987         |
|        10 | Jharkhand                                |             29 | 838              | 19,439         |
|        11 | Karnataka                                |             72 | 1,831            | 36,178         |
|        12 | Kerala                                   |             20 | 708              | 50,495         |
|        13 | Madhya Pradesh                           |             58 | 2,036            | 29,030         |
|        14 | Maharashtra                              |            135 | 2,944            | 72,437         |
|        15 | Manipur                                  |             32 | 703              | 10,514         |
|        16 | Meghalaya                                |             14 | 286              | 5,344          |
|        17 | Mizoram                                  |             15 | 452              | 8,030          |
|        18 | Nagaland                                 |             25 | 523              | 7,436          |
|        19 | Odisha                                   |             62 | 1,174            | 21,525         |
|        20 | Punjab                                   |             36 | 1,143            | 38,133         |
|        21 | Rajasthan                                |             41 | 1,170            | 17,047         |
|        22 | Sikkim                                   |             13 | 197              | 4,019          |
|        23 | Tamil Nadu                               |             56 | 984              | 36,490         |
|        24 | Telangana                                |             52 | 1,423            | 25,323         |
|        25 | Tripura                                  |             14 | 293              | 7,215          |
|        26 | Uttar Pradesh                            |             92 | 2,470            | 89,103         |
|        27 | Uttarakhand                              |             56 | 720              | 19,067         |
|        28 | West Bengal                              |             30 | 379              | 12,413         |
|        29 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands              |              6 | 179              | 1,314          |
|        30 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |              3 | 37               | 338            |
|        31 | Delhi                                    |              3 | 37               | 4,780          |
|        32 | Jammu and Kashmir                        |             47 | 810              | 41,735         |
|        33 | Ladakh                                   |              6 | 159              | 2,076          |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3381 ANSWERED  ON  20.03.2025 ASKED  BY  SMT.  BHARTI  PARDHI  AND  SHRI  SHRIRANG  APPA

CHANDU BARNE REGARDING EXPANSION OF HIGHWAY NETWORKS

Details of various initiatives to address road safety issues: -

## (A)      Education:

- i. Administers Road Safety Advocacy Scheme to provide financial assistance to various agencies for raising awareness about road safety and for administering road safety programs.
- ii. Observance  of  National  Road  Safety  Month/Week  every  year for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- iii. Administers  a  scheme  for  setting  up  of  Institutes  of  Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs) and Driving Training Centres (DTCs) at state/district level across the Country.
4. (B)      Engineering:

## B.1.    Road Engineering:

- i. Road  Safety  Audit  (RSA)  of  all  National  Highways  (NHs)  has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.
- ii. High priority is accorded to identification and rectification of black spots /accident spots on NHs.
- iii. Road  Safety  Officer  (RSO)  has  been  designated  at  each Regional Office of road owning agencies to look after RSA and other road safety related works.
- iv. Administers  the  electronic  Detailed  Accident  Report  (e-DAR) Project to establish a central repository for reporting, management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.
- v. Guidelines have been issued for the provision of signages on Expressways and National Highways to offer improved visibility and intuitive guidance to the drivers.
- vi. Provisions have been made in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for failure to comply with standards for the road design, construction and maintenance, as prescribed by the Government from time to time.
7. B.2    Vehicle Engineering:

## Initiatives to make vehicles safer, include the following:-

- i. Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.
- ii. Prescribed  norms  related  to  safety  measures  for  children below  four  years  of  age,  riding  or  being  carried  on  a  motor cycle. It also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph.
- iii. Mandatory  provisions  for  fitment  of  following  listed  safety technologies: -

## For M1 category vehicles:

- a.
- Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver.
- b.
- c.
- Manual Override for central locking system
- Over speed warning system.

## For all M and N category vehicles:

## a.

- Reverse Parking Alert System
- Mandated Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) for certain classes of L [Motor vehicle with less than four wheels and includes a Quadricycle], M [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for  carrying  passengers]  and  N  [Motor  vehicles  with  at  least four  wheels  used  for  carrying  goods  which  may  also  carry persons in addition to goods, subject to conditions stipulated
- iv. in BIS standards] categories.
- v. Mandated speed limiting  function/speed  limiting  device  in  all transport  vehicles,  except  for  two  wheelers,  three  wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.
- vi. Published the rules for recognition, regulation and control of Automated  Testing  Stations,  which  define  the  procedure  for fitness testing of vehicles through automated equipment and the  procedure  for  grant  of  fitness  certificate  by  ATSs.  The
- rules have been further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024.
- vii. Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/dis-incentives  and  for  creating  an  ecosystem  to phase out old, unfit and polluting vehicles.
- viii. Formulated  a  Scheme  to  set  up  one  model  Inspection  & Certification Centre in each State/UT with Central assistance for  testing  the  fitness  of  vehicles  through  an  automated system.
- Published  rules  regarding  the  Bharat  New  Car  Assessment Program (BNCAP) to introduce the concept of safety rating of passenger  cars  and  empower  consumers  to  take  informed
- ix. decisions.
- x. Published rules regarding prescribed level playing field in the area of manufacturing of buses by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders.
- xi. Mandated vehicles, manufactured on or after 1 st  October, 2025, shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles  of  N2  (goods  vehicle  with  gross  vehicle  weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12.0 tonnes) and N3 (goods  vehicle  with  gross  vehicle  weight  exceeding  12.0 tonnes) category.
- xii. Published  rules  for  revision  of  standards  for  Safety  Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for applicability of revised standards for safety belt assemblies,  safety  belt  anchorages  and  the  installation  of Safety  Belts  and  Restraint  Systems,  in  Motor  vehicles  of category  M,  N  and  L7  w.e.f.  01 st   April,  2025.  Further,  the vehicles  of  category  M1,  manufactured  on  and  after  the  1 st April 2025, shall meet the requirement of safety belt reminder for all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018.

## (C)     Enforcement:

- i. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 as stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance  and  enhancing  deterrence  for  violation  of  traffic rules and strict enforcement through use of technology.
- ii. Government  has  issued  rules  for  Electronic  Monitoring  and Enforcement  of  Road  Safety.  The  rules  specify  the  detailed provisions for placement of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density corridors on National Highways, State Highways and critical junctions in cities having population of more than one million in the country and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
- iii. Government on 10 th  June, 2024, has issued an advisory to all the States and Union territories on technological interventions for ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
4. (D)     Emergency Care:
- i. Published rules for the protection of Good Samaritan, who in good faith, voluntarily and without expectation of any reward or  compensation  renders  emergency  medical  or  non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital.
- ii. Enhanced  compensation  of  victims  of  Hit  and  Run  motor accidents (from Rs.12,500 to Rs.50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs.25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death).
- iii. The  National  Highways  Authority  of  India  (NHAI)  has  made provisions  for  ambulances  with  paramedical  staff/Emergency Medical  Technician/Nurse  at  toll  plazas  on  the  completed corridor of National Highways.
- iv. Government,  has  implemented  a  pilot  program  for  providing cashless treatment to victims of road accidents in Chandigarh Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Assam.

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