The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued an order to its Regional Officers (ROs) and Project Directors (PDs) emphasizing the need for maintenance work on National Highways before the onset of the forthcoming monsoon season. The progress of these activities will be tracked via the Project Management Software – Data Lake. This platform will feature photographs documenting the highways’ conditions prior to and following the repair work. Supplementary details concerning the repair activities will also be made available.
About the National Highways Authority of India
Established under the National Highways Authority of India Act in the year 1988, the NHAI operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Its principal responsibilities include supervising the National Highways Development Project and several other allied projects. These initiatives have been designed with the purpose of contributing to the development, maintenance, and management of national highways in the country.
Understanding the National Highways Development Project
The NHDP is an ambitious project that was initiated in 1998. The primary objective of this initiative is to upgrade, rehabilitate, and widen the main highways across the nation to adhere to higher quality standards.
Maintaining these highways in accordance with global benchmarks and cost-effective methods is one of the NHAI’s key tasks. By doing so, it aims to encourage economic development and enhance the quality of life of citizens. In the fiscal year 2019-20, the NHAI successfully completed construction across a stretch of 3,979 km on national highways.
The Importance of Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I
Development activities across approximately 27,500 km of national highways have been authorized under the Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I. This program functions as an overarching framework for the highway sector, aiming to optimize the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging crucial infrastructural gaps via effective interventions.
These interventions largely comprise the development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors, and Feeder Routes, National Corridor Efficiency Improvement, Border and International Connectivity Roads, Coastal and Port Connectivity Roads, and Green-field Expressways.
Significance of National Highways
National Highways (NH) play a pivotal role as the nation’s arterial roads, facilitating inter-state travel of people and goods. These highways extend across the length and breadth of India, connecting important locations such as national and state capitals, major ports, railway junctions, and border areas with foreign highways.
While the NHs, inclusive of expressways, encompass merely around 1.7% of the total length of all roads in the country, they shoulder almost 40% of the road traffic. This statistical data significantly underscores the vital role of these highways in ensuring smooth and efficient transportation across the nation.