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India Built 57,125 Km Highways in 5 Years, Created 33 Crore Job Days

The government has constructed 57,125 kilometers of National Highways over the last five years, leading to significant annual employment generation. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari outlined ambitious targets for expanding the access-controlled expressway network in the coming decade. The quality and capacity of the highway network have improved dramatically since 2014, with four-lane roads increasing 2.6 times. This infrastructure development is aimed at boosting logistics efficiency and driving broader economic growth across the country.

Key Points: 57,125 Km National Highways Built in 5 Years: Gadkari

  • 57,125 km NH built in 5 years
  • 34,215 lane-km average annual construction
  • 33 crore person-days annual employment
  • 18,000 km expressways targeted by 2029
  • NH network length grew 60% since 2014
2 min read

Centre built 57,125 km of national highways in last 5 years: Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari says govt built 57,125 km of national highways, generating 33 crore person-days of employment annually. Expressway network to expand.

"The infrastructure sector is the prime mover of the economy - Nitin Gadkari"

New Delhi, Feb 4

The government has constructed 57,125 km of National Highways during the last five years, with an average construction of 34,215 lane-km per year, and this has led to average annual employment generation of about 33 crore person-days, including direct and indirect employment, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Parliament on Wednesday.

The government has targeted to operationalise 18,000 km of access-controlled National Expressways by 2028-29. Also, a total 26,000 km of access controlled Expressways are targeted for award by 2032-33. It has also taken up the development of ring roads and bypasses of cities with a population of more than five lakh on priority, the minister told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

In addition, connectivity of ports as per the prioritisation of the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways and connectivity to industrial nodes as per the priority of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) are also taken up for development. The above proposed development will increase the logistics efficiency, which will act as a driver of economic growth, Gadkari contended.

The minister said that the infrastructure sector is the prime mover of the economy and contributes to faster economic growth and development. The National Highway (NH) network length in the country has increased from 91,287 km in March 2014 to 1,46,572 km at present, he added.

The NHs are primarily meant for long-distance connectivity. With increased budgetary allocation over the years, the quality of roads has improved substantially. The length of operational access-controlled National High Speed Corridors (HSCs)/Expressways has increased from 93 km in 2014 to 3,052 km at present. Length of four-lane and above NH network (including access-controlled HSCs/Expressways) has increased by 2.6 times from 18,371 km in 2014 to 48,568 km at present, the minister further stated.

Also, the proportion of less than 2-lane NHs has decreased from 30 per cent in 2014 to 9 per cent of the total NH network. The above developments have increased the connectivity and accessibility of urban, rural and industrial regions to the NH network across the country and also increased the logistics efficiency, Gadkari said.

According to a study conducted by IIT, Kanpur, the construction of 1 lane-km of National Highway leads to direct employment generation of 4,478 person-days and indirect employment generation of 5,297 person-days. Further, the long-term impact of highway construction leads to an induced employment generation of 52,393 person-days per lane-km over a period of 7 years, driven by the increased economic activity in the region, he added.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
The numbers look impressive on paper, but I hope the quality matches the quantity. We've all seen new highways develop potholes within a year. Also, what about the environmental cost and displacement of people? Development must be sustainable and inclusive.
A
Arjun K
Connecting ports and industrial nodes is a game-changer for 'Make in India'. Efficient logistics can make our exports more competitive globally. The focus on ring roads for cities >5 lakh is also much needed to decongest our urban centers. Good work!
S
Sarah B
As someone who travels frequently between Delhi and Chandigarh, the expressway has cut my travel time by almost 2 hours! It's a relief. Hope they maintain it well. The safety standards seem better too.
V
Vikram M
The reduction of less than 2-lane NHs from 30% to 9% is the real story here. Driving on single-lane highways with trucks was a nightmare. This upgrade directly improves safety and reduces accidents. More power to the NHAI team!
K
Kavya N
While the national highways are great, what about the last-mile connectivity? Our village got a beautiful new highway 10 km away, but the road connecting us to it is still kaccha. Hope the development reaches the interior regions as well.
M
Michael C

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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