Highways a bright spot amid economic slowdown, but problems persist

While spending has been ramped up and work has continued apace in some marquee projects, there have been some delays due to land acquisition and other issues

As various sectors in the economy go through a sustained slowdown, the roads and highways sector remains a rare bright spot. Work has continued apace in a number of marquee projects of the Centre and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This is evidenced in the pace of central funds as well.

The 2019-20 revised estimates of allocation to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) was the same as budgeted estimates, at Rs 83,015.97 crore. The capital expenditure component has been raised slightly, and revenue estimates have been cut by an equivalent amount.

However, the pace of spending has