Parliament Question: Development of National Highways in Gujarat

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 907 ANSWERED ON 24TH JULY, 2025 DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS IN GUJARAT

907. Shri Parshottambhai Rupala:

Will the MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

(a) the current status of the development of National Highways in Gujarat, particularly the Rajkot and Himatnagar bypass projects including the expected timeline for their completion and the total budget allocated;

(b) the details of the progress made so far on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot six-lane highway project including the sections that have been completed or that are still pending;

(c) the strategy for immediate repair of roads washed out due to heavy rains in Gujarat including the measures being taken to restore connectivity and ensure road safety; and

(d) the specific steps being taken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure timely completion of National Highway projects in Gujarat, including the Rajkot and Himatnagar bypass projects? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) The development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs) is a continuous process. As on date, 69 projects costing Rs. 55,614 crores, sanctioned by the Government for improvement and development of NHs in Gujarat, are under various stages of implementation with target for completion in a phased manner upto Financial Year 2029-30.Rajkot bypass is part of the on-going project for six-laning of Jetpur-Gondal-Rajkot section of NH-27 with revised scheduled date of completion on 26.09.2025. As of now, no proposal for construction of Himmatnagar Bypass is under consideration of the Government.

Details of the budget allocated and expenditure incurred for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs) in the State

of Gujarat including current year is as under:

Year Allocation (Rs. in Crores) Expenditure (Rs. in Crores) 2023-24 10,900 10,900 2024-25 8,262 8,091 2025-26 (till 2,346 2,163

30.06.2025)

(b) The development of Ahmedabad-Rajkot six-lane highway has been taken up by the Government of Gujarat. The details, as furnished by the

State Government are as under:

S. Section Length Contract Remarks No. (in km) Amount (Rs. in Crores) 1 Ahmedabad 40.000 467.10 Main carriageway to Bagodara completed. Service Road under implementation.

2 Bagodara to 43.000 396.00 Main carriageway Limbdi completed. Service Road under implementation.

3 Limbdi – 38.950 467.10 Main carriageway Sayla completed. Miscellaneous work of service road and junction improvement under implementation.

4 Sayla – 37.622 396.00 37 km completed. Balance 2 Bamanbore nos. Minor Bridge Work under implementation 5 Rajkot - 30.586 416.76 28.375 km completed.

Bamanbore Balance Hadario Major Bridge, Kuvadva Flyover and Toll Plaza under implementation.(c) The Government has prioritized the maintenance of existing NH network and inter-alia evolved a mechanism to ensure Maintenance and Repair (M&R) of all NHs sections through accountable maintenance agency including immediate repair of roads damaged due to heavy rains.

NHs development projects are executed on mainly three modes i.e.

(i) Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), (ii) Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and

(iii) Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC). Concession period including maintenance for projects on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) is 15 to 20 years and on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is generally 15 years. In case of EPC projects, Defect Liability period (DLP) is 5 years for the bituminous pavement works and 10 years for concrete pavement works. For Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) projects, concession period including maintenance is 20 to 30 years. Concession period for Projects on Operate, Maintain and Transfer (OMT) is generally 9 years. The Contractors/Concessionaires are responsible for maintenance of the respective NHs stretches within the contract/concession period of the project.

For all the remaining sections of NHs stretches, where DLP has ended or is not under any concession period of BOT/HAM/TOT/InvIT project, Government has taken a policy decision to undertake maintenance works through Performance Based Maintenance Contract

(PBMC) or Short Term Maintenance Contract (STMC). While STMC works are generally undertaken for a contract period of 1-2 year, PBMC works are undertaken for a contract period of about 5-7 years.

(d) Progress of projects is continuously monitored through advanced digital platforms such as Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) and Data Lake, Bhoomi Rashi portal (for Land Acquisition). In addition, periodic reviews are held at various levels with all stakeholders including officers of executing agencies to resolve pending contractual issues and ensure timely implementation of projects.

*****