NHs network up from 1.26 lakh km in March 2018 to 1.46 lakh km now: Gadkari

The road network in India has increased from about 54,02,486 km in March, 2014 to about 63,31,791 km in March, 2019, which is the second largest in the world, the Minister of Road, Transport and Highway, Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

“NH network in the country has increased from about 1,26,350 km in March, 2018 to about 1,46,145 km at present,” Gadkari told the parliament. The Ministry has laid focus on development of High-Speed Access Controlled Corridors and 4 Lane Road network in order to contribute towards development of economy through improved logistics efficiency. 

According to him, the length of 4 Lane plus NH network including High Speed Corridors has increased from about 27,935 km in March, 2018 to about 46,179 km so far. 

“Project implementation has already been started on 21 green field access-controlled corridors including expressways in which work in about 3,336 km length has been completed. The Ministry has also emphasized on minimizing less than 2 Lane NHs by upgrading these to Minimum 2 Lane / 2 Lane with Paved Shoulder,” Gadkari added further. 

Accordingly, length of less than 2 Lane NHs has decreased from about 36,808 km in March, 2018 to about 14,870 km so far. The Ministry has also identified 35 Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) for development as part of BMP to improve logistics efficiency to the Indian economy. “15 MMLPs have been prioritized for development under BMP-I. The Ministry has also undertaken green initiatives by planting about 3.46 crore trees since 2016, besides utilizing municipal waste for embankment construction, waste plastics in Bituminous construction and waste slag in Cement Concrete Construction towards carbon neutrality and sustainable development,” he added.