Delhi, July 23: Out of the total 1,191 National Highway projects under construction in the country, about 629 projects have not been completed on time and have been delayed, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. Giving this information in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, he said that these projects have exceeded their original deadline.
The Centre did not mention the reason for the delay
Currently, 1,191 projects are under construction and have not yet reached any stage of completion. However, the Union Minister did not clarify the exact reasons for the delay in the work of these 629 highway projects in his written statement.
Poor work: 103 contractors blacklisted
In another reply given in the Rajya Sabha, the minister informed that a total of 103 contractors have been blacklisted or fined from 2023-24 to 2025-26 due to poor quality work in national highway construction work.
Advanced Technology-Based Traffic Management (ATMS):
The government has prioritized smooth traffic flow and increased safety on national highways. For this, the government has planned to implement the ‘Advanced Traffic Management System – ATMS’ in a phased manner on all four-lane and above-lane national highways in the country.
Priority for modernization of highway network:
In addition to taking strict action against contractors who carry out poor work, the minister explained to the House that the government has adopted a phased roadmap to equip the country’s highway network with modern technology.