The Government has prioritized the maintenance of existing National Highway (NH) network and inter-alia evolved a mechanism to ensure Maintenance and Repair (M&R) of all NHs sections through accountable maintenance agency.

The M&R of stretches of NHs, where development works have commenced or Operation, Maintenance and Transfer (OMT) Concessions/ Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Contracts have been awarded, are the responsibility of the concerned Concessionaires/ Contractors till the end of the Defect Liability Period (DLP)/ the Concession Period. Similarly, for NHs stretches

undertaken under TOT (Toll Operate and Transfer) and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust), M&R responsibility lies with concerned Concessionaire till the end of the Concession Period.

For all remaining sections of NHs stretches, Government has taken a policy decision to undertake maintenance works through Performance Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC) or Short Term Maintenance Contract (STMC).

In order to strengthen the enforcement of traffic rules for ensuring traffic management in the country, the Government brings amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act from time to time. In accordance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, Government had also published rules in August 2021 for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety at high-risk and high-density corridors on National Highways, State Highways and at critical junctions in cities having a population of more than one million and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in the country. Enforcement of these rules comes under the purview of the State / Union Territory (UT) Governments.

Additionally, the Government has taken up installation of Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) in Four lane and above NHs. ATMS has provisions for various electronic enforcement devices which help in speedy identification of incidents (including traffic violations) on the highway stretches and effectively monitor the highways, thereby improving incident response time and road safety.

All development works on NHs, including NHs in Hilly and Remote areas, are generally planned as All Weather Roads only. Works on NHs are taken up based on the traffic density, condition of the road, inter-se priority and synergy with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP). At present, 1,310 NHs projects in 31,187 km length costing ₹8.11 Lakh Crore are under construction in the country.

For ensuring all-weather connectivity and effective traffic management on NHs in remote / hilly areas, weather / landslide warning & information systems are provided for guidance of traffic apart from tunnels and viaducts particularly in high altitude areas for seamless traffic movement.

The Government has issued standardized parameters for investigating hill slope stability & selecting cost-effective long-term stabilization measures for landslide-prone areas in hilly regions.

Further, sustainable bio-engineering measures such as coir/jute mat hydroseeding, interlinked chain mesh with green strips, bamboo piling by stepped berms and erosion control with Vetivar grass plantation on jute matting etc. have been implemented by the Government for stabilizing hilly and landslide prone areas, thereby enhancing safety on NHs in such areas. Construction of tunnel is also explored as an option in case the above solutions are not found feasible.

Steps taken by the Government to enhance traffic management have been elaborated in reply to Part (a).

Road safety engineering measures / works on NHs, including rectification of blackspots, are undertaken mainly as part of scope of development / maintenance works on NHs or as standalone projects in certain cases. Out of total 13,795 black spots identified on the NHs up to 2021-22, short-term rectification measures have been completed on 11,515 black spots and permanent rectification measures have been completed on 5,036 black spots. Further, Government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Details of various initiatives taken to address road safety issues are at Annexure.

User-fee at user fee plaza is collected for the use of section of National Highway as per the provisions of National Highways Fee Rules applicable for the respective category of vehicles uniformly across the country.

This reply was given by the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari in a written statement to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha.

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GDH/HR