Mumbai, July 2 -- Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari underlined the importance of well maintained road infrastructure in enhancing regional connectivity, facilitating economic growth, promoting tourism and improving commuter convenience. He reviewed the quality, maintenance and progress of National Highway projects covering 4,931 km in Telangana, 2,035 km in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and 804 km in the Union Territory of Ladakh during review meetings in New Delhi. The minister stressed the need for comprehensive monsoon preparedness across all project stretches.
He instructed officials to undertake preventive and mitigation measures, including effective drainage management, slope stabilisation and protection work and deployment of rapid response systems to address weather related disruptions. The measures were deemed essential to ensuring uninterrupted connectivity, road safety and resilience of the National Highway network, with emphasis on minimising disruptions to traffic. Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra was present and participated in discussions on operational readiness.
The reviews were based on feedback from media reports, social platforms and inputs from officials of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and project contractors. During the meetings the minister assessed the status of ongoing projects and maintenance activities and the measures being adopted to ensure delivery of safe, efficient and durable highway infrastructure. He emphasised the need to accelerate project implementation while maintaining high standards of quality and accountability.
The minister directed officials and executing agencies to strengthen monitoring mechanisms, ensure timely completion of works and adopt advanced construction technologies and best practices to improve asset durability, riding comfort and long term performance of highway corridors. He urged enhanced use of digital monitoring, regular inspections and robust quality assurance protocols to detect and remediate defects early and to safeguard investments. The government was said to be committed to developing world class highway infrastructure across the country through timely execution, stringent quality assurance and adoption of modern engineering solutions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.