Lok Sabha Question No. 190 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-01-29
Subject: National Highway Projects in Maharashtra
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 190 ANSWERED ON 29 TH  JANUARY, 2026

## NATIONAL HIGHWAY PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

## 190.  SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE:

SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE:

SMT. BHARTI PARDHI:

SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR:

## Will the MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  expected  progress  and  completion  status  of  National Highway projects by March 2026, particularly in Maharashtra;
- (b) whether the Government has addressed quality assurance concerns and streamlined execution processes, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the mechanisms  in  place for monitoring project timelines and ensuring time-bound completion;
- (d) the  breakdown  of  highway  construction  across  different  project categories; and
- (e) whether the Government is implementing satellite-based toll collection and intelligent transportation systems, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)     As on date, 1242 National Highway (NH) projects covering a length of 27,656 km are under construction in the country which inter alia includes 126 NH projects covering a length of 2,761 km in Maharashtra. Out of this,

405 NH projects covering a length of 8,403 km are targeted for completion by March, 2026 which inter alia includes 61 NH projects covering a length of 1,241 km in Maharashtra.

- (b)     The Government has taken the following initiatives for improvement of quality control systems in implementation of NH works: -
- i. Policy for Adoption of Automated & Intelligent/Machine-aided Construction (AI-MC) in NH projects issued;
- ii. Assessments  of  road  conditions  through  Network  Survey  Vehicle (NSV)  mandated  for  all  NHs  and  Expressway  works  at  the  time  of completion  and  every  six  months  thereafter,  which  is  monitored through electronic platform. NSV system for road condition assessment has further been revamped using analytics for enforcement of contractual provisions during Operation and Maintenance (O&M) through dedicated central cell;
- iii. Analysis of High-Resolution Imagery collected from Drone Surveys in Drone Analytics Monitoring System (DAMS) integrated with Artificial Intelligence/  Machine  Learning  algorithms  for  periodic  evaluation  of progress and quality of ongoing NHs works from time to time;
- iv. Deployment  of  Mobile  Quality  Control  Vans  (MQCVs)  equipped  with Non-Destructive  Testing  Equipment  on  pilot  basis  in  four  States, namely  in  Gujarat,  Rajasthan,  Odisha  and  Karnataka,  for  diagnostic assessments of overall health and quality of works from time to time during  project  implementation  phases.  Decision  has  been  taken  to diversify this initiative in some more States;
- v. Deployment  of  Third  Party  Quality  Auditors  for  independent  quality
- audits of NH works on a case-to-case basis.
- (c)      The  Government  closely  monitors  construction  progress  and  is proactively working with project implementing agencies, State Governments, contractors/developers, to resolve issues/bottlenecks in projects and speed up construction of NHs. Periodic review meetings are being held at various levels,  and  several  steps  have  been  taken  to  improve  liquidity  of  funds available with contractors / developers, to expedite progress.

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 and 'PRAGATI'.

- (d)      The  above  on-going  projects  involves  construction  of  expressways and  greenfield  access  control  high  speed  NH  corridors,  upgradation  of existing  NHs  to  two-lanes  with  paved  shoulders/four-lane/six-lane  NH standards carriageway, construction of standalone tunnels, bypasses, flyovers, under-passes and bridges, long term road safety measures, etc.
- (e) The Apex Committee and High-Level Empowered Committee consisting of Experts from Industry and Academia, in view of security and privacy considerations and overall operational control, have recommended further deliberations for the Satellite-based user fee collection system. Satellite-based user fee collection system is not currently operational anywhere on National Highways (NHs). However, the Government has decided to implement Automatic Number Plate Registration  (ANPR)  based  barrier-free  Electronic  Toll  Collection  (ETC) System with available technology at selected sections of National Highways as an added facility along with FASTag where the user fee shall be  charged  from  the  vehicle  users  without  having  to  stop,  slow  down  or stay in a given fee plaza lane.

As  regards  Intelligent  Transportation  Systems,  National  Highways Authority  of  India  (NHAI)  is  implementing  Advanced  Traffic  Management System (ATMS) in all 4/6-lane NH projects. ATMS is also being implemented in NH projects executed in past as standalone work or through Change of Scope  (CoS).  ATMS  includes  installation  of  CCTV/ANPR  cameras  which capture video footage 24x7 and its monitoring is being done at command centres and toll plazas.

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