Highway ministry likely to seek 25% higher budgetary allocation for 2019-20

The allocation has been sought for projects that would be executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL)

For 2019-20, the ministry of road transport and highways is likely to seek nearly 25 per cent higher budgetary allocation from the finance ministry compared to last year.

This is mainly for completing the ambitious Bharatmala, the scheme that received Cabinet approval in October 2017.

Funds being sought are to the tune of Rs 850-890 billion. Under Bharatmala, the aim is to construct 34,800 km of highways at an investment of Rs 5.35 trillion in the first phase (by 2022).

The allocation has been sought for projects that would be executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Highways and