Under the phase 1 of Bharatmala Pariyojana, 24,800 km of National Highways will be constructed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Ministry has also identified 208 sites for construction of Road Over Bridges (ROB) on National Highways. These bridges will be build under the Setu Bharatam scheme.
The Ministry has also launched an Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) for inventory and condition survey of bridges on all National Highways across the country which has already completed survey of 1,62,022 bridges including 1,26,233 culverts.
At present 1,457 Highway development projects covering a length of 45,830 km with an estimated cost of Rs. 4,03,249 crores are under execution in the country.
There are delays in some of the projects mainly due to problems in land acquisition, utility shifting, non-availability of Soil/Aggregates, poor performance of contractors, environment/ forest/wildlife clearance, public agitation for additional facilities, arbitration/contractual disputes with contractors etc.
In this regard, regular meetings are held with project developers, State governments and contractors.
To expedite completion of these projects various steps are also taken which include streamlining of land acquisition and environment clearances, exit for equity investors, premium re-scheduling, close coordination with other Ministries, revamping of dispute resolution mechanism, frequent reviews at various levels .
