Lok Sabha Question No. 3271 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: National Highway Projects in Maharashtra
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3271

ANSWERED ON 12 TH  MARCH, 2026

## NATIONAL HIGHWAY PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

†3271.   SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

Will the MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  current  status  of  National  Highway  projects  in  the  rural  and backward  areas  of  Maharashtra  and  the  district-wise details of incomplete works;
- (b)  whether  the  condition  of  roads  in  Beed  district  and  surrounding areas is poor and if so, the action taken for their repair and sanction of funds;
- (c) the specific schemes being implemented by the Union Government for the upgradation of rural roads and sanction of new routes and the number of villages in Maharashtra that have benefited therefrom;
- (d)  the  safety  measures  implemented  by  the  Ministry  to  reduce accidents on National Highways;
- (e) the timeline fixed for completion of pending flyovers, bypasses and widening projects; and
- (f) whether some  projects have been delayed due to lack of coordination  between  the  Union  and  State  Governments,  if  so,  the arrangements made to ensure their timely completion?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)      116  National  Highway  projects  including  rural  and  backward areas covering a length of 2,612 km at an estimated cost of Rs. 57,360 cr.  are  under  various  stages  of  implementation  in  the  State  of Maharashtra.
- (b)     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 agencies.

NHs development projects are executed on mainly three modes i.e.  (i)  Build  Operate  and  Transfer  (BOT),  (ii)  Hybrid  Annuity  Model (HAM)  and  (iii)  Engineering  Procurement  and  Construction  (EPC). Concession period including maintenance for projects on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) is 15 to 20 years and on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is generally 15 years.  The Concessionaire is responsible for maintenance of the respective NHs stretches within the concession period of the project. Only in case of EPC projects, Defect Liability  Period  (DLP)  is  5  years  for  the  bituminous  pavement  works and 10 years for concrete pavement works.

(Infrastructure Investment Trust) projects, concession period including maintenance is 20 to 30 years. Concession period for Projects on Operate, Maintain

For Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) and InvIT and Transfer (OMT) is generally 9 years.

For  all  remaining  sections  of  NHs  stretches,  where  DLP  has ended  or  is  not  under  any  concession  period  of  BOT/HAM/TOT/InvIT undertake maintenance works through Performance Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC)  or  Short  Term  Maintenance  Contract  (STMC).  While  STMC works  are  generally  undertaken  for  a  contract  period  of  1-2  year, project, Government has taken a policy decision to PBMC works are undertaken for a contract period of about 5-7 years.

The Government has sanctioned work having length 38 km and costing  Rs.  28.56  Crores  under  PBMC  scheme  and  one  work  having length of 1.041km costing Rs. 0.73 Crores under STMC scheme for the stretches not covered under DLP.

- (c)     The Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of NHs. The works  for  development  of  rural  roads  are  sanctioned  under  Pradhan Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana  (PMGSY).   As  reported  by  the  State Government of Maharashtra, 804 projects costing Rs. 3442.23 crores and covering 3540 km of road length and 213 number of bridges have been  sanctioned  under  PMGSY  scheme  in  the  last  three  years including current year benefiting 8187 number of villages.
- (d)     Any accident that occurs on National Highways is notified on eDAR portal and detailed cause analysis of the accident is carried out by technical consultants for taking necessary corrective measures for reducing  the  Road  accidents.  Immediate  short  term  measures  such road  markings,  signages,  crash  barriers,  raised  pavement  markers, delineators,  closure  of  median  openings,  traffic  calming  measures, etc., are provided for reducing the Road accidents. In addition to this, long term rectification measures  involving improvement  of road geometrics,  junction  improvements,  spot  widening  of  carriageway, construction of underpasses/ overpasses etc. are also on implemented based on the road safety audit of the accident spots.
- (e)     There have been delays in completion of some NH projects due to  existing  Right  Of  Way  (ROW)  disputes,  delays  in  land  acquisition, forest as well as wildlife clearances, delays in utility shifting and other pre-construction activities  as  well  as  cash  flow  issues  with  some  of the Contractors and COVID-19 lockdown. All the pending issues of land acquisition, forest clearances and utility shifting have been substantially resolved in close co-ordination with the State Government  and  the  balance  works  are  under  implementation  with regular monitoring.
- (f)       In  order  to  ensure  timely  completion  of  NH  projects,  the Government has undertaken various initiatives. These include streamlining  and  expediting  land  acquisition  using  'Bhoomirashi'

portal  and  GIS-based  Land  Acquisition  Plan,  revamping  'Parivesh' Portal to facilitate faster forest and environmental clearances, enabling  online  approval  of  General  Arrangement  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.  Railways  has  also  launched  a web portal for  Railway  related  clearances  with  defined  timelines  for various approvals. The  Government  has  put  in  place  a  strong  framework  using multiple  mechanisms  for  monitoring  project  progress  and  contractor inefficiencies.  Regular  review  meetings  are  conducted  at  various levels  with  stakeholders  to  assess  project  progress,  and  critical projects, such as those delayed by more than three years or pending for award / appointment. Further, many State Governments conduct coordination meetings led by the Chief Secretary to resolve issues affecting project execution. Projects where issues remain unresolved are escalated for further review through the Project Monitoring Group.

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