**Executive Summary**
This document provides the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' response to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha regarding the construction of National Highway (NHS) projects. The response, dated December 11, 2025, outlines the government's target of awarding 10,000 km of NHS projects by the end of the financial year 2025-26. It also addresses the decrease in award pace over the last three years and details steps taken to reduce project commissioning time.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Award Target:**
* The government targets awarding approximately 10,000 km of National Highway projects in the financial year 2025-26.
* State/UT-wise details for these awards are provided in an annexure.
* **Award Pace Details:**
* The awarded length of National Highway projects in the previous three financial years:
* 2022-23: 12,376 km
* 2023-24: 8,581 km
* 2024-25: 7,538 km
* The pace of awards has slowed due to stricter enforcement of Right of Way (ROW) availability, forest and wildlife clearances, GAD approval, and project scrutiny.
* **Initiatives to Reduce Commissioning Time:**
* Streamlining land acquisition using "Bhoomirashi" portal and GIS-based Land Acquisition Plan.
* Revamping "Parivesh" Portal to expedite forest and environmental clearances.
* Enabling online approval of General Arrangement of Drawings (GAD) for ROB/RUB from the Railways.
* Leveraging review mechanisms and collaboration with State Governments to resolve bottlenecks.
* Launching a web portal for Railway-related clearances with defined timelines.
* **Project Monitoring:**
* A strong framework with multiple mechanisms is in place to monitor project progress and contractor inefficiencies.
* Regular review meetings are conducted with stakeholders.
* Coordination meetings led by State Government's Chief Secretaries, escalation of unresolved projects.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholders: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways**
* **Impact:** They must manage project awards to meet the 10,000 km target for FY 2025-26.
* **Action Required:** Monitor project progress, contractor performance, and coordinate with State Governments to resolve bottlenecks, and ensure the implementation of streamlining initiatives to reduce project commissioning time.
**Stakeholders: State Governments**
* **Impact:** Expected to coordinate and facilitate project execution within their jurisdictions.
* **Action Required:** Participate in coordination meetings, resolve issues affecting project execution, and cooperate with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to resolve bottlenecks and expedite clearances.
**Stakeholders: Contractors**
* **Impact:** Subject to increased monitoring of project progress and potential consequences for inefficiencies.
* **Action Required:** Ensure timely project execution, adhere to project timelines, and address any identified inefficiencies.
**Stakeholders: Citizens/General Public**
* **Impact:** Benefit from improved road infrastructure and reduced project delays.
* **Action Required:** N/A
Key Entities Referenced
National Highways (NHs): Refers to the national highway projects being awarded by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: The central government ministry responsible for the development and maintenance of the National Highways projects.
Bhoomirashi portal: Portal used for streamlining and expediting land acquisition for road projects.
Parivesh portal: Portal used for facilitating faster forest and environmental clearances for infrastructure projects.
PRAGATI: A multi-modal platform for proactive governance and timely implementation, involving the Prime Minister and Chief Secretaries of States.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1939
ANSWERED ON 11th DECEMBER 2025
CONSTRUCTION OF NHS PROJECTS
1939. SHRI SELVAGANAPATHI T.M.:
Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री
be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is considering awarding 10,000 kilometres
of National Highway projects by the end of the financial year 2026, if so,
the details thereof;
(b) whether there has been a sharp decrease in the award from 12,000
kilometres to 6,000 kilometres during the last three years, if so, the
details thereof; and
(c) whether the Government has taken several steps to reduce the time
taken between approving a project and its date of commissioning, if so,
the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) The Government in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has
set a target of award of National Highways (NHs) projects for about
10,000 km during the current Financial Year 2025-26. The State/UT wise
details of target for award of NHs projects during 2025-26 is annexed.(b) and (c) The year-wise details of award during the previous three
financial years are as follows:
Financial year (FY) Awarded Length (km)
2022-23 12,376
2023-24 8,581
2024-25 7,538
The pace of award has slowed down over the previous FYs mainly due
to (i) strictly ensuring availability of 90% Right of Way (ROW) before
start, forest & wildlife clearances and approved General Arrangement
of Drawing (GAD) for ROBs / RUBs; and (ii) stricter scrutiny of projects.
These measures are aimed to ensure smooth implementation without
substantial delays.
The Government has undertaken various initiatives to reduce the
time taken between approving a project and its date of commissioning.
These include streamlining and expediting land acquisition using
“Bhoomirashi” portal and GIS-based Land Acquisition Plan, revamping
“Parivesh” Portal through Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, to facilitate faster forest and environmental clearances,
enabling online approval of General Arrangement of Drawings (GAD) of
Road Over Bridge / Road Under Bridge (ROB/RUB) from the Railways,
and leveraging the mechanism of review and resolution of bottlenecks /
hindrances in ongoing projects, in active collaboration with the State
Governments and other stakeholders. Government has also launched a
web portal for Railway related clearances with defined timelines for
various approvals.
The Government has put in place a strong framework using
multiple mechanisms for monitoring project progress and contractor
inefficiencies. Regular review meetings are conducted at various levels
with stakeholders to assess project progress, and critical projects,
such as those delayed by more than three years or pending for award /
appointment.Many State Governments conduct coordination meetings led by
the Chief Secretary to resolve issues affecting project execution.
Projects where issues remain unresolved are escalated for further
review through the Project Monitoring Group and through “PRAGATI”.ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1939 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2025
ASKED BY SHRI SELVAGANAPATHI T.M. REGARDING CONSTRUCTION
OF NHS PROJECTS
The State/UT wise details of target for award of NHs projects during
2025-26:-
Sl.
State/UT Target (km)
No.
1 Andhra Pradesh 461
2 Arunachal Pradesh 1000
3 Assam 188
4 Bihar 569
5 Chhattisgarh 71
6 Delhi 50
7 Goa 38
8 Gujarat 500
9 Haryana 104
10 Himachal Pradesh 121
11 Jammu & Kashmir 158
12 Jharkhand 364
13 Karnataka 328
14 Kerala 275
15 Ladakh 11
16 Madhya Pradesh 1484
17 Maharashtra 698
18 Manipur 206
19 Meghalaya 301
20 Mizoram 14
21 Nagaland 17Sl.
State/UT Target (km)
No.
22 Odisha 321
23 Punjab 216
24 Rajasthan 351
25 Sikkim 73
26 Tamil Nadu 398
27 Telangana 640
28 Tripura 95
29 Uttar Pradesh 711
30 Uttarakhand 183
31 West Bengal 54
Total 10000
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