In a remarkable development, capital expenditure on National Highways has witnessed a substantial rise, escalating from approximately ₹51,000 crore in the fiscal year 2013-14 to an impressive ₹2,40,000 crore in 2022-23. Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari revealed this information in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The budgetary allocation for the road ministry has undergone a remarkable increase, surging from about ₹31,130 crore in 2013-14 to an extensive ₹2,70,435 crore in the financial year 2023-24. This augmented budgetary support has played a pivotal role in the expansion of the National Highway (NH) network across the nation, scaling from roughly 91,287 km in March 2014 to an extensive 1,46,145 km at present, as added by Gadkari.
Gadkari emphasized the positive impact of this financial boost, pointing out that the length of the four-lane-plus NH network, encompassing high-speed corridors, has skyrocketed by more than 250%, stretching from about 18,371 km in March 2014 to approximately 46,179 km to date.
Furthermore, he highlighted the noteworthy reduction in the length of less than two-lane NHs, which has dwindled from about 27,517 km in March 2014 to approximately 14,870 km, constituting only about 10% of the NH network.
Gadkari underlined the successful completion of various flagship projects or sections, contributing to the enhanced ease of movement. Notable achievements include the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section (229 km) and the entire section in Madhya Pradesh (210 km) of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, among others.
