The Modi government’s flagship Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, which has overshot the expenditure limit, is expected to be completed by 2027-28, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in its annual report. The ministry, in its annual report 2023-24, said a revised financial proposal for the Bharatmala Pariyojana is under process for approval.
The Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-1 entails a total length of 34,800 km in 31 states and UTs and more than 550 districts.
“The length awarded is 26,425 km, and the length constructed is 17,411 km so far. The programme is expected to be completed by 2027-28,” the report said.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Bharatmala Phase-I in June 2017.
The Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages the development of about 26,000 km length of economic corridors, which — along with the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors — are expected to carry the majority of the freight traffic on roads.
Further, about 8,000 km of interstate corridors and about 7,500 km of feeder routes have been identified for improving the effectiveness of Economic Corridors, GQ and NS-EW Corridors.
The Bharatmala (approved for an estimated cost of Rs 6,92,324 crore, including other ongoing schemes) is to be funded from Central Road and Infrastructure Fund cess (Rs 2,37,024 crore) collected from petrol and diesel, remittances (Rs 46,048 crore), apart from additional budgetary support (Rs 59,973 crore), expected monetisation of national highways (through Toll-Operate-Transfer model) (Rs 34,000 crore), Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) (Rs 2,09,279 crore) and private sector investment (Rs 1,06,000 crore).
“However, due to the increase in the project cost as well as the cost of land acquisition, the revised financial proposal for the Bharatmala Pariyojana is under process for approval,” the report said.
It also said the MoRTH has defined a Vision 2047 for the National Highways sector, which serves as the guiding principle for the Master Plan of National Highways and allied infrastructure.
According to the report, Vision 2047 aims to provide access to high-speed corridors within 100 – 150 km to all citizens.
Vision 2047 for the National Highways aims to improve passenger convenience with world-class passenger amenities.