New Delhi, March 25 -- A parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in its report submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, flagged concerns over the reactive nature of highway maintenance budgeting, underutilisation of research and development funds, and slow progress in key projects such as port connectivity under the Bharatmala project.

The report highlighted that while overall budget utilisation might suggest good absorption of funds, there is wide variation across verticals.

"The ministry stated that budget utilisation has been consistently above 99% in recent years, with 90% utilisation expected in the current year with Rs. 870 crore pending. The Committee observes that while the aggregate...