A Bumpy Ride

Just why does the muted trend in highway construction and contract award continues in FY24.

- ASHUTOSH KUMAR

In june this year, Union road transport and highway ministry's 'remarkable feat', as minister Nitin Gadkari puts it, of laying 26.82 kilometres of bituminous concrete road in 24 hours earned a mention in Limca Book of Records and Asia Book of Records. The work was done on four-lane Solapur-Bijapur section of National Highway 13. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), an elated Gadkari reiterated the government's commitment to 'swift', 'seamless' and 'energy-efficient' mobility across the nation.

But highway construction data for current financial year shows that average construction per day in H1 (April-September) of FY24 was just 19.59 km a day, significantly less than 36 km per day in FY21. A total of 3,567 km were constructed during H1 FY24 compared with 3,559 km in H1 FY23. The target for the financial year is 13,800 km.