Parliament Question: Expansion of National Highways

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 6267 ANSWERED ON 02TH APRIL 2026 EXPANSION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS 6267. SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken steps to accelerate the pace of National Highways and Expressways construction across the country, if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the total length of National Highways constructed and upgraded in the last three years, State/UT-wise; (c) the details of the expansion of India's National Highways network since 2014; and (d) whether any assessment has been conducted on the impact of improved connectivity on travel time, logistics efficiency and overall commuter convenience, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI) (a) In order to accelerate pace and reduce delay of construction of National Highways (NHs) and Expressways projects, the Government has undertaken various initiatives. These include streamlining and expediting land acquisition using “Bhoomirashi” portal and GIS-basedLand 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. The 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. 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”. (b) The State/UT-wise details of total length of NHs constructed during the last three years is annexed. (c) The total length of NH network in the country has increased from about 91,287 km in March, 2014 to 1,46,572 km December, 2025. (d) Based on the study by Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on impact of development of National Highways projects in the country, broad findings are as under: - i. Every one-rupee expenditure in National Highway development leads to a ₹ 3.2 increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP); ii. The time taken for transportation between factories and suppliers has decreased by 9.19% in treatment districts vis-à-vis control districts;iii. The time taken for transportation between factories and customers has decreased by 4.93% in treatment districts as compared to control districts; iv. The time to access schools has decreased by 16.6% in treatment districts vis-à-vis control districts; v. There has been a 9% reduction in time to access health services in treatment districts as compared to control districts; vi. The average time to reach Mandis decreased by 7% in treatment districts as compared to control districts; and vii. The average number of Mandis accessed increased by 8% in treatment districts as compared to control districts.ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6267 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 ASKED BY SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM REGARDING EXPANSION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS The State/UT-wise details of total length of NHs constructed during the last three years Sr. No. State/UT Total length (km) 1 Andhra Pradesh 1994 2 Arunachal Pradesh 734 3 Assam 926 4 Bihar 1,450 5 Chhattisgarh 802 6 Goa 54 7 Gujarat 1,780 8 Haryana 945 9 Himachal Pradesh 556 10 Jharkhand 695 11 Karnataka 1,611 12 Kerala 646 13 Madhya Pradesh 2,353 14 Maharashtra 3,753 15 Manipur 687 16 Meghalaya 414 17 Mizoram 540 18 Nagaland 625 19 Odisha 1,097 20 Punjab 910 21 Rajasthan 2,377 22 Sikkim 185 23 Tamil Nadu 2,11724 Telangana 1,101 25 Tripura 302 26 Uttar Pradesh 2,487 27 Uttarakhand 583 28 West Bengal 595 29 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 54 30 Delhi 106 31 Jammu & Kashmir 674 32 Ladakh 182 33 Puducherry 11 *****