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Bharatmala projects covering a total length of 26,425 km have been awarded and out of this 19,826 km have already been constructed, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed Lok Sabha in a written reply earlier this week.
The Bharatmala Pariyojana was approved by the central government in 2017. Bharatmala Pariyojana is envisaged to improve the logistics efficiency and connectivity in the country including connectivity to tribal, aspirational and Left Wing Extremist-affected districts while reducing accident on the these Highways ensuring safer transportation networks. The development of high-speed corridors will also reduce the travel time substantially between key economic centers. Various Industrial Hubs, NMP nodes, MMLPs, Ports and Airports to be provided high-speed connectivity through these corridors. As of February 2025, 6,669 km length of high speed greenfield corridors has been awarded with construction completed for 4,610 km. In so far as National Highways (NHs) are concerned, works are carried out as per standards, guidelines, manual, code of practice of Indian Roads Congress as well as Specification for Road and Bridge Works, the minister said in his written reply. "Necessary road safety measures are taken during design, construction, operation and maintenance stages. Further, Guidelines have been issued for regular safety audit of all NHs at design, construction, pre-opening stage of NH projects as well as on existing NHs for ensuring road safety," Minister Gadkari said. Many Smart Technologies such as Automated and intelligent Machine-aided construction (AI-MC), LIDAR and drone based analytics etc is being adopted in Highway Construction. In another reply regarding the ambitious PM Gati Shakti initiative, the minister said 115 NHs / road projects in about 13,500 km amounting to Rs. 6.38 lakh crore have been examined so far leveraging the PM Gati Shakti NMP Portal and consulted within the Network Planning Group (NPG) of PM Gati Shakti NMP. This, he said, has resulted in better planning and execution of infrastructure projects for more streamlined project delivery by reducing the time and cost associated with project design, alignment, clearances, and approvals. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). All the NHs development projects are planned in line with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) principles. (ANI)
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