Road Ministry

India's tunnel sector booms amid ecological and development challenges

As country 'digs deeper', experts stress need for mindful development

Road ministry to double defect liability period for EPC contracts to 10 yrs

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the government has decided to double the 'defect liability period' to 10 years for contractors of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. Currently, under EPC projects, the responsibility for maintenance of national highways lies with the government after the defect liability period (5 years) is over. "The quality of roads built under EPC mode is not good. The defect liability period under EPC mode is 5 years... and within 3 years, there are lots of problems on roads," Gadkari said at an event here. The road transport and highways minister noted that the roads built under BOT (build-operate-transfer) or HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) mode are in good condition because the responsibility of maintenance of roads lies with the contractor and he has to pay the price. "So now we have taken a decision, any road (built) under EPC mode, we will increase the defect liability period to 10 years from 5 years," he said. The minister

Projects worth Rs 3 trn to be awarded by road ministry in 3 months: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry will award road contracts worth Rs 3 lakh crore within three months and close the current financial year with contracts worth Rs 5 lakh crore. Addressing an event here, Gadkari said because of the Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct, the speed of awarding road projects was slow in the initial months of the current financial year. "I assure you, within three months, we will finalise the (road) contracts more than Rs 3 lakh crore, and our target is to award over Rs 5 lakh crore of (road) contracts by March 2025," he said. Gadkari noted that the road ministry has a lot of road projects in the pipeline, and raising funds for the projects will not be a problem, as NHAI has a very good reputation in the capital market. The minister said NHAI's present toll income is Rs 45,000 crore and in the next two years, it will go up to Rs 1.4 lakh crore. "We are monetising the road assets by which we are

Modi 3.0 full list: Shah, Rajnath, Sitharaman, Gadkari retain portfolios

The top four ministries remain same with Amit Shah as the home minister, Rajnath Singh as defence minister, Dr S Jaishankar as external affairs minister, and Nirmala Sitharaman as finance minister

Modi 3.0: Nitin Gadkari claims his domain for the third straight time

Gadkari is the only minister in Modi cabinet with 10+ years in the same ministry

Road rage on deal street: Changing landscape of highway construction biz

$11.3 billion worth of highways have changed hands since 2019, and road construction has moved out of the isolated universe of thekedars to embrace fund managers in fine suits

National highways construction up, but govt may miss award target

Construction of highways in February stood at 1430 km in February, which is higher than the 1260 km it had achieved in February 2023, but shy of what the Centre had expected

Govt clears Rs 6,621 cr for construction of eight stretches on NH-913

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has sanctioned Rs 6,621.62 crore for the construction of eight stretches on National Highway-913, designated as the Frontier Highway. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in a series of posts on X said the comprehensive project spans a total length of 265.49 km. Gadkari said encompassed within this initiative are package 1, 3, and 5, covering the Huri-Taliha section, two packages on the Bile-Migging section, package 2 & 4 managing the Kharsang-Maio-Gandhigram-Vijaynagar section, and package 1 focusing on the Bomdila-Nafra-Lada section. The minister said the development of these highway stretches holds promise for enhanced connectivity to border areas, fostering socio-economic growth in the region. The construction of the Frontier Highway is anticipated to curb migration and facilitate reverse migration towards the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh, he added. In a separate post on X, Gadkari said MoRTH has ...

Centre's new regulations bring cheer to owners of vintage cars in India

But there is a mismatch in the rules and their implementation on the ground

Govt approves Rs 6,728 cr for 8 stretches on Frontier Highway in Arunachal

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has approved an allocation of Rs 6,728.33 crore for constructing eight stretches on NH-913 (Frontier Highway) in Arunachal Pradesh as Intermediate Lane Road, spanning 305.50 km on Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode, an official statement said on Thursday. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in a post on X said the development aims to enhance connectivity to border areas, fostering socio-economic progress. The Frontier Highway construction is expected to curb migration, encourage reverse habitation towards Arunachal Pradesh's border regions, Gadkari added. Furthermore, he said these frontier highway stretches will establish crucial road infrastructure, linking significant river basins, facilitating the development of numerous hydropower projects in the state. According to Gadkari, this predominantly greenfield road will connect sparsely populated Upper Arunachal areas, which are ideal for tourism,

Bike taxis fall within definition of contract carriage: Road ministry

On the legal status of 'bike taxi', the road transport ministry has clarified that motorcycles fall within the definition of 'contract carriage' as per the Motors Vehicles Act, 1988. A contract carriage, according to the MV Act, is a vehicle carrying passengers for hire under a specific agreement. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), in an advisory to states, said that it has been brought to its notice that certain states/UTs are, while processing applications for grant of permits, taking the view that 'motorcycle' is not eligible to ply under contract carriage or operate as a transport vehicle. "It is clarified that as per section 2(28) of the MV Act, vehicles having less than four wheels fitted with an engine capacity exceeding 25cc are also included within the definition of motor vehicles. Hence, 'motorcycles' shall fall within the ambit of Section 2(7) of the Act," the advisory notification said. The contract carriage agreement involves renting an entire vehicle

Road ministry revises RFP document to include 'deemed approval' provision

The road ministry has included the provision of "deemed approval" in the revised document for request for proposal, for timely approval of reports submitted by Detailed Project Report (DPR) consultants. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a circular said timely approval of various reports submitted by consultants is considered a critical requirement for the preparation of timely DPRs. "Keeping that in view, provision of deemed approval has been included in the footnote below enclosure-III schedule for approval of reports," the circular added. The circular said approval or comments shall be communicated by the client to the consultant within the time period. "If no approval/comments are furnished within the time period by the client, it will be considered as deemed approval," it said. The circular said the deemed approval for submissions, the consultant will remain responsible for correctness of the submission. The ministry further said the officer(s) concerned

Gadkari inaugurates 3 road overbridges in Lakhimpur Kheri to reduce traffic

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday inaugurated three road overbridges in Lakhimpur Kheri through video-conferencing and said this will ease traffic congestion and add to the convenience of people. These overbridges have been built at Chhouch crossing, LRP crossing and Rajapur crossing on the Pilibhit-Basti national highway at a cost of Rs 297 crore. Virtually addressing a programme held at the LRP crossing, Gadkari lauded Union MoS Home Ajay Kumar Mishra. "The three road overbridges (ROBs) came into existence on the initiatives of Union MoS Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, who strived to push up these projects," he said. Gadkari highlighted that the three overbridges were completed in January 2024 two months before the stipulated time of March 2024. Speaking on the occasion, Mishra thanked Gadkari for acceding to his request for the overbridges and putting them into a reality in a record time. Mishra said that soon three more overbridges -- one on the Ghaghra river, other on the Shard

Road ministry aims to construct record 13,813 km of highways in FY24

Jain further said the road ministry aims to garner Rs 40,000 crore through asset monetisation in the current financial year. Going forward, there will be more private investment for road projects

Centre plans to eliminate 9,000 accident prone spots on NHs by May 2025

Some highways in the country have old engineering defects, but the new roads and highways are incorporating road safety features, Highways Secretary Anurag Jain said

New BOT rules: Govt looks to ease traffic density, termination risks

Privatised highway construction model has been a flop, prompting reforms

Road ministry proposes tech system for truckers to inform about accidents

The road transport and highways ministry on Friday said it has suggested that truck drivers could be allowed to use a technology system wherein they can inform authorities about an accident so that such an incident will not be considered as a hit-and-run case under the new law. "The matter comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and it will take the final decision," road transport and highways secretary Anurag Jain said. His comments come days after some truckers went on a strike to protest against stringent provisions for hit-and-run cases under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which is yet to come into force. Earlier this week, the protesting truckers resumed work after talks with the government. According to Jain, truck drivers feel that if they stop after hitting a person to help the victim, they will be harmed by the public. "So we can use technology innovatively to find out the solution... We have suggested that the driver use a technology system to inform authorities, and then it .

Budgetary allocation to road ministry jumps to Rs 2.7 trillion in 2023-24

The average annual budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has increased by 940% from Rs 25,872 crore per year during 2009-14 to Rs 2.7 trillion during 2023-24

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Authorities said no to alternate rescue tunnel

The Char Dham project, which the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel is a part of, was broken down into 53 civil works to avail an exemption from environmental clearance

Multivitamins, dry fruits supplied to workers trapped in Uttarkashi tunnel

The government is sending multivitamins, antidepressants and dry fruits to 41 workers trapped for the past seven days in an under-construction tunnel that collapsed in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, Road, Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain said on Sunday. "Fortunately, there is light inside because the electricity is on. There is a pipeline, and thus water is available. There is a 4-inch pipe, which was used for compression. Through that, we are sending food from day 1," he said. Jain, in a video brief update on the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse rescue operation, further said there is water and electricity in two km portion inside the tunnel, which is the finished part of the 4.531-kilometre two lane bi-directional tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarkashi. "We are sending multivitamins, antidepressants and dry fruits to workers who have been trapped inside the under-construction tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarkashi," he said. The Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district .