Parliament Question: Connectivity of Tourist Centres in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6327 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 CONNECTIVITY OF TOURIST CENTRES IN MAHARASHTRA 6327. SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार् ग मंत्री be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has finalized any action plan for improving road connectivity to tourist centres across the country; (b) if so, the details of such initiatives, including the financial allocation, status of implementation and timelines for each project, project-wise; and (c) the extent to which tourist centres in Maharashtra including destinations such as Mahabaleshwar, Ajanta–Ellora and Melghat are likely to benefit from improved connectivity under the said action plan, along with the expected impact on tourism inflow and local economy? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI) (a) and (b) Government in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). Development and maintenance of NHs is a continuous process. The development of NHs is carried out after network planning through PM Gati Shakti framework with whole ofthe Government approach. While planning such development, connectivity to important Economic, Tourist and Religious centres / nodes are invariably taken into consideration, including connectivity to tourist / religious destinations prioritized by the Ministry of Tourism. At present, 1,244 NHs projects in about 27,300 km length costing about ₹7.60 Lakh Crore are under construction for improving connectivity across the country including Tourist and Religious centres / nodes. Out of this, 14,733 km have been constructed. These projects are under various stages of implementation with scheduled completion in a phased manner by Financial Year (FY) 2029-30. State / Union Territory (UT) – wise details of these NHs projects are at Annexure. (c) At present, 118 NHs projects in about 2,634 km length costing about ₹57,518 Crore are under construction in the State of Maharashtra for improving connectivity across the State, including Tourist and Religious centres / nodes, thereby boosting the tourism inflow and local economy. This inter-alia includes Upgradation / Rehabilitation of Aurangabad – Sillod – Ajanta – Jalgaon section of NH-753F for improving connectivity to Ajanta. Improvement works taken up on NH-66 and NH-48 shall facilitate the improvement of connectivity to Mahabaleshwar. Similarly, Improvement works on NH-52 have facilitated the improved connectivity to Ellora. Further, Government has also taken up Two / Four Laning works on Betul – Khandwa section of NH-347B to improve the connectivity to Melghat.ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) AND (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6327 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 ASKED BY SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE REGARDING CONNECTIVITY OF TOURIST CENTRES IN MAHARASHTRA State / Union Territory (UT) – wise details of under construction NHs projects: - Sl. No. State / UT Nos. Length (Km) Cost (₹ Crore) 1 Andaman and Nicobar 4 90 763 2 Andhra Pradesh 82 1,904 42,298 3 Arunachal Pradesh 16 452 7,783 4 Assam 52 1,104 43,425 5 Bihar 67 1,914 67,680 6 Chhattisgarh 38 632 10,901 7 Dadra and Nagar Haveli And Daman and Diu 3 37 338 8 Delhi 1 9 1,467 9 Goa 16 26 1,814 10 Gujarat 43 1,053 28,461 11 Haryana 18 318 14,157 12 Himachal Pradesh 31 518 14,126 13 Jammu and Kashmir 42 778 38,381 14 Jharkhand 35 847 21,255 15 Karnataka 82 2,044 45,535 16 Kerala 17 544 41,784 17 Ladakh 5 113 1,294 18 Madhya Pradesh 60 2,098 37,130 19 Maharashtra 118 2,634 57,518 20 Manipur 31 749 10,259 21 Meghalaya 14 309 6,268 22 Mizoram 15 292 8,991 23 Nagaland 21 378 5,429 24 Odisha 57 695 14,037 25 Puducherry 1 14 25 26 Punjab 34 1,029 31,565 27 Rajasthan 36 772 13,011 28 Sikkim 9 132 3,195 29 Tamil Nadu 45 697 31,849 30 Telangana 42 1,412 27,642 31 Tripura 11 228 4,562 32 Uttar Pradesh 97 2,509 96,656 33 Uttarakhand 72 750 20,322 34 West Bengal 29 219 9,947 *****