National Highways of India

The National Highways Authority of India, is responsible for managing the National Highways network according to international standards and cost-effectively.Its mission is to promote economic well-being and enhance the quality of life for the people. NHAI’s significant mandate is the implementation of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), India’s largest-ever highways project.Yogendra Narain served as the first Chairman of NHAI. In 1995, NHAI commenced its operations and officially became an autonomous body. This transformation was initiated by then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the goal of developing four-to-six-lane highways that connect India’s major cities, known as the Golden Quadrilateral, encompassing Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai NHAI’s core responsibilities include the development, maintenance, and management of a vast network of National Highways spanning over 92,851.05 kilometers across the entire country.

Roles, Functions & Rules Of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

The NHAI is responsible for managing a network of more than 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,32,499 km in India. The roles, functions, and rules of the National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) are discussed below:

Objectives of NHAI

The objective of NHAI is to provide and maintain the nation’s national highway network to the highest standards possible while also meeting user expectations in the most efficient and timely manner possible. To enhance the nation’s economy and the quality of life for its citizens.

Functions of NHAI

• To develop, maintain, and manage the network of National Highways (NH) across the country.
• To collect toll fees on National highways.
• To develop and provide consultancy and construction services on a national and international level.
• To conduct research activities that help in developing, maintaining, and managing highways or other facilities.
• To be an advisor of the Central government on issues related to national highways.
• To formulate and implement schemes for the development of national highways.
• To construct offices and residential buildings for employees working in NHAI.
• To provide facilities and amenities to national highway users necessary for the smooth traffic flow on highways.

Notable Rules Of National Highways Authority of India NHAI

Some of the notable rules of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are discussed below:

Numbering of the Highways

• The numbering of highways is done based on the following criteria discussed below –

• All the North-South direction highways will be marked with even numbers while all the East-West direction highways will be marked with odd numbers.

• The number of all major highways will be of one or two digits eg. NH – 7, NH – 44, etc.

• Highways with three-digit numbers are extensions or side roads off the main route. For example, the branches of the main National Highway 44 will be 144, 244, 344, etc.

• The three-digit sub-highways have suffixes A, B, C, D, etc. affixed to them to designate minor spin-offs or sub-highway lengths. such as 966A, 527B, etc.

List of some important National Highways (NH) in India

Bharatmala Pariyojana Program of National Highways Authority of India NHAI

Bharatmala Pariyojana is India’s largest infrastructure project which was designed to build 34,800 km of National Highway corridors, linking more than 600 districts across the country. It is a centrally-sponsored scheme of the Government of India. It was launched on 31 July 2015.This program comes under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The components of Bharatmala Pariyojna are;

• National Corridors

• National Corridors Efficiency Program

• Greenfield expressways

• Economic(Industrial) Corridors

• Logistics parks

• Northeast India connectivity

• International connectivity

  Major Projects Undertaken by NHAI

Golden Quadrilateral

• The Golden Quadrilateral is a road network of national highways that connects the majority of India’s main economic, agricultural, and cultural hubs.
• It consists of a quadrilateral connecting India’s four main cities: Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi.
• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is in charge of the Golden Quadrilateral project.
• It was launched in 2001 by the Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• It is the largest highway project in India and the fifth longest in the world with a length of 5,846 km of four/six lane express road.

Benefits of Golden Quadrilateral

• Faster transportation – The maximum speed on the highway is more than 130 km/hr which is in between Secunderabad and Kazipet (132 km/hr).
• Connectivity – It connects crucial agricultural, industrial, and cultural regions of India.
• Mobility – Robust road infrastructure has a positive impact on the workforce’s adaptability and mobility.
• Boosts Industrialization – By enabling a less expensive and more effective flow of goods, people, and ideas across different regions, it promotes rapid industrialization.

North-South and East-West Corridor

• The North-South and East-West Corridor (NS-EW) is the largest operational highway project in India passing from 17 states and the UT of Delhi.
• The complete NS–EW corridor project is managed by the National Highways Authority of India(NHAI).
• North-South and East-West Corridor is the second phase of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). It involves the construction of 7300 kilometers of four/six-lane highways.

The Route of the North-South and East-West corridor is distributed based on the following division:

• North-South Corridor: It is a 4,000 kilometers long corridor from Srinagar(J&K) to Kochi(Kerala).

• Major cities connected through this corridor include Srinagar, Udhampur, Jammu, Ludhiana, Panipat, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Madurai, etc.

• East-West Corridor: It is a 3,300 kilometers long corridor from Porbandar(Gujarat) to Silchar(Assam). Major cities connected through this corridor include Rajkot, Udaipur, Kota, Jhansi, Darbhanga, Siliguri, etc.

• Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh is the junction of North-South and East-West Corridors.