GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2246
ANSWERED ON 10TH MARCH, 2016
CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS
Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the existing length of the National Highways in the country along with the National Highways targeted to be added annually to the network;
(b) whether any study has been conducted to assess the requirement of National Highways in the country in order to connect the backward regions of the country;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the norms laid down to priorities the construction of National Highways;
(d) whether requisite resources are available with the Government to finance the projects under construction so that they are not delayed due to want of funds; and
(e) if so, the details thereof along with the funds estimated for construction of roads including the sources of these funds?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI PON. RADHAKRISHNAN)
(a) to (e) The existing length of National Highways (NHs) in the country is about 1,00,475 km. The Ministry is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs), which is a continuous process, and priority is given for development and maintenance of existing NHs. The works on NHs are, accordingly, taken up as per availability of funds, inter-se priority and traffic density. However, the Ministry declares some State Roads as new NHs from time to time considering the requirement of connectivity, inter-se priority and availability of funds. The various sources of funds for development of NHs include budgetary allocation, toll remittances, external aid, internal and extra budgetary resources (IEBR), private investments, etc.
The Ministry has taken up detailed review of NHs network with a view to improve the road connectivity to coastal / border areas, backward areas, religious places, tourist places, construction / rehabilitation / widening of about 1,500 major bridges and 208 Railway Over Bridges (ROBs) / Railway Under Bridges (RUBs) on NHs, improvement of newly declared NHs providing connectivity to District Head Quarters, Connectivity Improvement Program for Char-Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunothri & Gangothri in Uttarakhand) under proposed Bharatmala Pariyojana. However, the Bharatmala Pariyojana is yet to be formally launched.