New Delhi, April 29 -- The Union road transport and highways ministry is recalibrating its highway-building strategy to focus on decongesting urban India, with plans to prioritize ring roads and bypass corridors around nearly 50 cities with populations exceeding one million, two people aware of the development said.

The shift marks a departure from the earlier emphasis on long inter-city corridors under programmes such as Bharatmala, towards integrating highways with urban mobility needs.

According to the first person quoted above, the new approach of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will ensure that long-distance highway traffic is diverted outside dense city cores, enabling seamless freight movement while reducing c...