Govt's Vision '47 set to target 50,000km of expressways

Commuters will get access to faster expressways at a distance of 100-125km from any point

- Subhash Naravan

The Bharatmala highway development programme is set for an early withdrawal, as the government looks to ramp up its road-construction plan and align it with a more ambitious Vision 2047 that envisages building up to 50,000km of access-controlled highways and expressways, a senior government official said on Friday.

According to Anurag Jain, secretary, ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), the new strategy of the ministry is to directly move to Vision 2047 plan finalized by it, which would entail construction of about 50,000km of access-controlled expressways criss-crossing the country. This plan would provide commuters access to these faster expressways at a distance of 100-125 km from any point in the country.

Mint broke the story in October on the government’s plan to prematurely exit the Bharatamala highway programme conceived six years ago, and start building largely access-controlled highways in the country.