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The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI () is an autonomous agency of the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of
National highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...
out of 1,32,499 km in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is a nodal agency of the
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in al ...
(MoRTH). NHAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...
(ISRO) for satellite mapping of highways.


History

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was created through the promulgation of the ''National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988''. Section 16(1) of the Act states that the function of NHAI is to develop, maintain and manage the national highways and any other highways vested in, or entrusted to, it by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
. On 10 February 1995, NHAI came into operations and was formally made an autonomous body. It is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways, totalling over in length. The NHAI is also responsible of the toll collection on several highways. Yogendra Narain was the first Chairman of NHAI in 1988. He is a retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. In June 2022, the NHAI created a Guinness World record by building 75 km of highway between Amravati and Akola in Maharashtra in a span of just 5 days.


Projects

The NHAI has the mandate to implement the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The NHDP is under implementation in Phases. * Phase I: Approved in December 2000, at an estimated cost of ₹300 billion, it included the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), portions of the North–South and East–West Corridor, and connectivity of major ports to
National highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...
. * Phase II: Approved in December 2003, at an estimated cost of ₹343 billion, it included the completion of the NS-EW corridors and another of highways. * Phase IIIA: This phase was approved in March 2005, at an estimated cost of ₹222 billion, it includes an upgrade to 4-lanes of of National Highways. * Phase IIIB: This was approved in April 2006, at an estimated cost of ₹543 billion, it includes an upgrade to 4-lanes of of National Highways. * Phase V: Approved in October 2006, it includes upgrades to 6-lanes for , of which is on the GQ. This phase is entirely on a DBFO basis. * Phase VI: This phase, approved in November 2006, will develop of expressways at an estimated cost of ₹ 167 billion. * Phase VII: This phase, approved in December 2007 will develop ring-roads, bypasses and flyovers to avoid traffic bottlenecks on selected stretches at a cost of ₹167 billion. NHAI along with NHIDCL helps in implementing Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North Eastern Region (SARDP-NE); a project to upgrade National Highways connecting state capitals to 2 lanes or 4 lanes in the north-eastern region.


Golden Quadrilateral

The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway network connecting many of the major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India. A
quadrilateral In Euclidean geometry, geometry a quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon, having four Edge (geometry), edges (sides) and four Vertex (geometry), corners (vertices). The word is derived from the Latin words ''quadri'', a variant of four, and ''l ...
of sorts is formed by connecting
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
and
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, and hence its name. The largest
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
project in India and the fifth longest in the world was launched in 2001 by
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...
and was completed in 2012. It is part of the first phase of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and consisted of building four/six lane express highways at a cost of .


North–South and East–West Corridor

The North–South and East–West Corridor is part of the second phase of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and consists of building of four/six lane expressways connecting
Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
in the north and Kanyakumari and
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
in the south,
Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...
in the west and
Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...
in the east, at a cost of US$12.317 billion (at 1999 prices).


National-Green-Highway-Mission

The
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in al ...
(MoRTH),
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
has promulgated Green Highways (Plantations, Transplantations, Beautification, and Maintenance) Policy – 2015 on 29 September 2015 to develop green corridors along National Highways for sustainable environment and inclusive growth. The policy envisions "development of eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of the communities, farmers, NGOs, private sector, institutions, government agencies and the Forest Departments for economic growth and development in a sustainable manner." Under the aegis of the Policy, development of green corridors is proposed along developed and upcoming National Highways in the width available in existing Right of Way (ROW) in the form of median and avenue plantations. Roadside plantations have immense potential to enhance the green cover of the nation and generate employment opportunities for the rural community. Green Highways Division - under NHAI has been entrusted with the task of planning, implementation and monitoring roadside plantations along one lakh km network of National Highways which would, in turn, generate one lakh direct employment opportunity in plantations sector in next ten years. For effective project planning, implementation and monitoring GHD has developed Guidelines and Vision Document.


Criticism

A 2012 report prepared by the World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit alleged that fraudulent and corrupt practices were being followed by Indian contractors working on national highway projects funded by it, and sought a thorough investigation into the matter. The report also alleged that contractors paid bribes and gifts, including gold coins, to "influence the actions" of officials and consultants of the National Highways Authority of India. Local bodies and major road owners - including PWD and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) - were criticized for depending on old technologies and outdated specifications for building and relaying roads.


New numbering system

In March 2010, Government of India issued a new list of numbered routes with rationalized and systematic numbering. The east–west oriented highways are numbered odd starting from North and increasing towards South e.g., NH 1, NH 3, NH 27 etc. The even numbered routes are, similarly, drawn vertically going north to south, with numbers increasing from eastern to western parts of India e.g., NH 2, NH 6, NH 44 etc.


Initiatives


National Green Highways Program

The
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in al ...
and NHAI launched the green highways program in 2016.


Harit Path application

The National Highways authority of India launched "Harit Path", a mobile application to monitor plantations along
National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...
. It will also monitor species detail, target achievements and maintenance activities.


See also

* List of national highways in India * National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited * Expressways of India * Inland Waterways Authority of India * Transport in India * FASTag


References


External links


National Highways Authority of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Highways Authority Of India Roads in India Road authorities Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...
Government agencies established in 1995 1995 establishments in Delhi Organisations based in Delhi