20,000km of roads built! Bharatmala project is 75% complete: Gadkari
What's the story
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has confirmed to the Lok Sabha that the Bharatmala Pariyojana has made significant progress.
Out of the total length of 26,425km earmarked for development under this project, a substantial portion measuring 19,826km has already been completed.
Gadkari disclosed this information in a written response earlier this week.
Project objectives
Bharatmala Pariyojana: A vision for improved connectivity
The Bharatmala Pariyojana, which was approved by the central government in 2017, aims to improve logistics efficiency and connectivity across India.
The project especially focuses on improving access to tribal areas as well as Left Wing Extremism-affected districts.
It also aims to reduce accidents on highways and ensure safer transportation networks.
Gadkari stressed these high-speed corridors will drastically reduce travel time between major economic hubs.
Infrastructure upgrade
High-speed corridors: A leap toward modern infrastructure
Till February 2025, a total length of 6,669km for high-speed greenfield corridors has been awarded under the Bharatmala project. Construction work has already been completed on 4,610km of these corridors.
Gadkari assured that all National Highways (NHs) are being developed according to standards set by the Indian Roads Congress and specifications for Road and Bridge Works.
Innovation in infrastructure
Smart technologies for highway construction
Gadkari emphasized the adoption of advanced technologies like Automated and Intelligent Machine-aided Construction (AI-MC), LiDAR, and drone-based analytics in highway construction.
These innovations are a part of an effort to ensure road safety at all stages—design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
The minister also said that guidelines have been issued for regular safety audits of NHs at various stages to ensure road safety.
Project efficiency
PM Gati Shakti initiative: Streamlining infrastructure projects
In another update, Gadkari spoke about the PM Gati Shakti initiative. He said 115 NHs/road projects covering around 13,500km have been examined so far under this scheme. The projects cost ₹6.38 lakh crore.
Gadkari said this initiative has resulted in better planning and execution of infrastructure projects making project delivery more streamlined by cutting down time and cost of project design, alignment, clearances, approvals.