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In a significant move aimed at tackling persistent delays in infrastructure development, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has set stringent milestones for land acquisition procedures and obtaining environmental, forest, and wildlife clearances for all national highway projects scheduled for bidding from June 1, 2025. The ministry stated in a recent notification that this initiative is designed to better synchronise the project approval, award processes, and the declaration of appointed dates among all stakeholders. By ensuring critical preparatory steps are completed earlier, the ministry expects to avoid delays in project construction after the award, prevent contractual disputes, and curb time and cost overruns. The urgency of these measures is highlighted by recent data on existing project backlogs. A Care Ratings report from December 2024 indicated that a substantial 55 per cent of the 374 road projects awarded by the national highways body, with an aggregate construction cost value of ?1 lakh crore, were facing delays exceeding six months. This figure represents a sharp rise in time overruns from 33 per cent in June 2023 to 55 per cent by December 2024. Under the new notification effective June 1, 2025, MoRTH has stipulated that certain key clearances and approvals must be in place before specific stages of the bidding and award process. Specifically: Before bids are received: Environmental clearance, wildlife clearance, General Agreement Drawings (GAD) of Railways, and utility shifting estimates must be secured. Before inviting the bid: The GAD from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) must be completed. Before the Letter of Award (LoA) is issued: Forest clearance must be obtained. Crucially, for land acquisition, the notification mandates that over 90 per cent of the Right of Way (ROW) length required for a project must be acquired before the bids are even received. The issue of delays has been a recurring concern. In response to a question in Rajya Sabha in December, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari provided data showing that nearly 44 per cent of national highway projects, each valued at ?150 crore or more, across 32 states and union territories, were under construction as of March 2024 but were facing delays. According to Minister Gadkari, 419 out of 952 such projects had missed their original completion deadlines by March 2024. He attributed these delays to factors including bottlenecks in land acquisition, delays in securing statutory clearances and permissions, utility shifting, encroachment removal, and law and order issues. The Minister had also noted that Maharashtra had the highest number of delayed projects in this category, with 59 out of 101 running behind schedule, while proportionally, the northeastern states and union territories were the worst affected. |
