The Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways (MoRTH) aims to achieve an unprecedented feat in road construction, targeting 13,000 kilometres by the end of this fiscal year, with a remarkable run rate of 35 kilometres per day. Anurag Jain, Secretary of MoRTH, highlighted the ministry’s accomplishments, stating that in the current fiscal year, road construction has reached a historic high of 13,327 kilometres, compared to 4,260 kilometres in 2013-14.
As of January this year, 7,600 kilometres of roads have already been completed, and the ministry is optimistic about reaching 12,800-13,000 kilometres by the end of March. The pace of construction would enable the department, led by Nitin Gadkari, to lay more than 35 kilometres of roads daily.
Jain mentioned that nearly 90% of the basic work has been completed for the remaining part, expressing confidence in achieving the target during the last two months of the fiscal year. The statistics from MoRTH reveal a significant increase in the construction of four-lane roads, reaching 46,720 kilometres by January 2024, indicating a 2.5-fold increase compared to FY 2014.
The ministry has implemented robust review systems with project directors and state governments, conducting weekly monitoring to ensure the quality of construction work. Additionally, the government has identified 9,000 black spots, with work on over 5,000 of them in progress, expecting 100% completion by June this year.
Jain assured that the pipeline includes projects worth Rs 7-8 lakh crore, already approved and unaffected by the upcoming general elections. The government is focused on enhancing infrastructure, particularly the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a 1,380-kilometre controlled-access highway expected to significantly reduce travel time and save fuel for truckers. The Centre aims to develop 50,000 kilometres of access-controlled highways by 2037, a decade earlier than initially planned.