Govt Strengthens National Highway Maintenance & Traffic Enforcement
The government has prioritized maintenance and repair (M&R) of National Highways (NHs) by implementing an accountability-driven mechanism for upkeep. Concessionaires and contractors are responsible for M&R during the Defect Liability Period (DLP) or Concession Period for NH stretches under development, Operation & Maintenance (O&M) contracts, OMT (Operation, Maintenance & Transfer), TOT (Toll Operate & Transfer), and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trusts).
For all other NH sections, the government has adopted a Performance-Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC) or Short-Term Maintenance Contract (STMC) approach to ensure efficient maintenance.
To improve traffic enforcement and road safety, the government periodically amends the Motor Vehicles Act. Under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, new rules were introduced in August 2021 for electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety on high-risk corridors, National Highways, State Highways, and critical urban junctions. This enforcement responsibility lies with State and Union Territory (UT) governments.
The Government has taken up installation of Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) in Four lane and above NHs. ATMS has provisions for various electronic enforcement devices which help in speedy identification of incidents (including traffic violations) on the highway stretches and effectively monitor the highways, thereby improving incident response time and road safety.
All development works on NHs, including NHs in Hilly and Remote areas, are generally planned as All Weather Roads only. Works on NHs are taken up based on the traffic density, condition of the road, inter-se priority and synergy with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP). At present, 1,310 NHs projects in 31,187 km length costing ₹8.11 Lakh Crore are under construction in the country.
For ensuring all-weather connectivity and effective traffic management on NHs in remote / hilly areas, weather / landslide warning & information systems are provided for guidance of traffic apart from tunnels and viaducts particularly in high altitude areas for seamless traffic movement.
The Government has issued standardized parameters for investigating hill slope stability & selecting cost-effective long-term stabilization measures for landslide-prone areas in hilly regions.
Further, sustainable bio-engineering measures such as coir/jute mat hydroseeding, interlinked chain mesh with green strips, bamboo piling by stepped berms and erosion control with Vetivar grass plantation on jute matting etc. have been implemented by the Government for stabilizing hilly and landslide prone areas, thereby enhancing safety on NHs in such areas. Construction of tunnel is also explored as an option in case the above solutions are not found feasible.
Road safety engineering measures / works on NHs, including rectification of blackspots, are undertaken mainly as part of scope of development / maintenance works on NHs or as standalone projects in certain cases. Out of total 13,795 black spots identified on the NHs up to 2021-22, short-term rectification measures have been completed on 11,515 black spots and permanent rectification measures have been completed on 5,036 black spots. Further, Government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Details of various initiatives taken to address road safety issues are at Annexure.
