Parliament Question: Expansion of National Highway Infrastructure in Coastal Regions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6398 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 EXPANSION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN COASTAL REGIONS 6398. SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार् ग मंत्री be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has undertaken major highway development projects in coastal regions of the country to improve connectivity between ports, industrial corridors and tourism destinations; (b) whether it is a fact that delays in land acquisition, environmental clearances and contractual issues have affected timely completion of certain highway projects; (c) whether the Government has established any monitoring mechanism to ensure that highway construction projects are completed within stipulated timelines; and (d) the steps taken or proposed to strengthen road infrastructure in coastal districts to support economic growth and regional connectivity? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)(a) Government in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). Government has taken up development of coastal roads (generally within 50 km of the coast). Additionally, connectivity of ports as per the prioritization of Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways and connectivity to Industrial nodes as per the priority of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) are also taken up for development to reduce logistics costs and improve freight efficiency, which will act as driver to economic growth. At present, 1,244 NHs projects in about 27,300 km length costing about ₹7.60 Lakh Crore are under construction in the country for improving connectivity across the country including Coastal Regions, Ports, Economic, Industrial, Tourist and Religious centres / nodes. (b) and (c) Delays in NHs projects are primarily due to issues / bottlenecks relating to land acquisition, statutory clearances / permissions, utility shifting, encroachment removal, law & order issues, financial crunch affecting implementation capacity of Concessionaire / Contractor, poor performance of Contractor / Concessionaire, Force Majeure events etc. The Government has taken number of steps to expedite the completion of projects in the country. 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.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 also through “PRAGATI”. (d) There is substantial progress in strengthening coastal NH infrastructure, with a majority of the network already operational. Out of about 6,144 km of NH network along the country’s coastline, 4,322 km has already been completed, and 1,033 km is under implementation. Remaining NHs projects are at various stages of approval. *****