Bharatmala Programme

Bharatmala is an umbrella programme launched by Ministry of Roads and Highways in 2015 for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions like:

  • Development of Economic Corridors
  • Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes
  • National Corridor Efficiency Improvement
  • Border and International connectivity roads
  • Coastal and Port connectivity roads and Green-field expressways

Need

  • Inadequacy in Optimization of National Highway network Road network due to resource constraints and lack of a national plan
  • Lack of integrated planning in the connectivity of major corridors and ports with hinterland
  • Presence of Congestion Points, with multiple points of local congestion present even on already developed corridors
  • Lack of accident response infrastructure

Significance

  • Bharatmala will significantly boost highway infrastructure – like it will raise 6 national corridors to 50, also will raise 40 per cent freight to 80 per cent freight on National Highways and will raise 300 districts to 550 districts connected by minimum 4-lane highways.
  • It will create employment opportunities.
  • It will improve connectivity and reduce logistic cost.

Performance

  • Projects comprising length of 19,265 km have been awarded with cost of Rs. 5,60,216 crore, under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I. Till now, length of about 6,750 km has been completed.
  • Projects comprising length of 612 km with cost of Rs. 13,720 crore have been awarded in the State of Bihar, under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I.
  • Targets for the construction of National Highways are finalized on year to year basis. The Government has set a target of 12,000 km of National Highway for construction during the current financial year 2021-22 against which 5,118 Km has been constructed as on 30th November 2021.

Issues with the Programme

  • Low funding and delays in approval and execution
  • Several operational issues such as land acquisition and other environmental regulatory clearances
  • Poor record of public-private partnership schemes in India

Possibilities and Prospects

  • Speed up the process of approvals
  • Definite roadmap of project completion and fund mobilization
  • Clear demarcation of Public – Private partnership
  • Boost confidence of private partners and remove bottlenecks

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