The project is aimed at enabling faster movement of security forces and military equipment during exigencies, while also improving connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other north eastern states.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the government will introduce a FASTag-based annual pass for private vehicles, priced at Rs 3,000, effective from August 15, in a step towards hassle-free highway travel.
Commuters on national highways and expressways will need to pay more for their road journeys, as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has increased toll charges by an average of 4 to 5 per cent on highway sections across the country. The revised toll charges for motorists on national highways across the country have come into effect from Tuesday, a senior highways ministry official told PTI.
'With new projects and recently awarded projects kicking in, capital expenditure should only increase going forward.'
Under the new regulations, known as the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Amendment Rules, 2024, fees will now be charged on the actual distance travelled if the distance exceeds 20 kilometres.
The bridge, constructed by the rural works department at a cost of Rs 10 crore, was not opened to the public as approach roads were yet to be constructed.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
33 per cent of all road accidents and 35 per cent of fatal accidents took place on national highways and expressways.
'The vision now is not just to look at national highways as a number of kilometres, but quality as well.'
The 4.5 kilometre-long Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, which is part of the central government's strategic 900-km 'Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road', will continue after the necessary safety audit and repair of the broken structure, a senior road ministry official said on Wednesday.
The Centre has taken a major step towards increasing efficiency in decision-making by empowering joint secretaries to report to secretaries directly, officials said on Wednesday.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said rapid strides in technology and green fuel will reduce the cost of electric automobiles, bringing them at par with petrol-run vehicles in the next two years. Replying in the Lok Sabha on the Demands for Grants for Road Transport and Highways Ministry, 2022-23, Gadkari emphasised the need to shift to cost-effective indigenous fuel and hoped that this fuel will be a reality soon, bringing the pollution levels down and improving the overall situation in Delhi.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry can address the water woes faced in parts of the country.
The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry on Wednesday said the states and union territories (UTs) will provide up to 25 per cent rebate on road tax for vehicles that are purchased after scrapping old vehicles under the new National Automobile Scrappage Policy. The ministry in a press note said that in the vehicle scrapping policy, it is proposed to have a system of incentives to nudge vehicle owners to discard old and polluting vehicles. "As an incentive for scrapping, concession is stipulated in the motor vehicle tax for a vehicle registered against submission of Certificate of Deposit, which is issued by a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility.
Nearly five months after its soft launch, the government's e-portal, the National Single Window System (NSWS), is seeing a significant increase in the number of investors using it to get a bunch of approvals for their ventures. The first clearance was granted on 18 January. Since then, the progress has been good. Out of the 1,258 registered users on the portal, 378 were registered in the last one week.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the basis of the information provided by them in their online application, the statement said.
The tunnel would reduce the travel time to the Ladakh region by 15-20 per cent and would come up close to the Atal tunnel near Rohtang Pass, reports Megha Manchanda.
The minister expressed hope that toll operators will respond to his call positively. Earlier, Gadkari had asked NHAI to suspend toll on all national highways to ease transportation of essential goods and supplies.
Govt not to award BOT projects to private firms this year
The much-needed amendments will improve road safety, facilitate citizens in their dealings with transport departments, strengthen rural transport, public transport and last-mile connectivity through automation, computerisation and online services.
The National Highways Authority of India and the road transport and highways ministry are currently engaged in appraisal of the request for qualifications, said a senior ministry official.
Under the new system, a uniform driving licence will be issued across the country.
Officials say the new minister, CP Joshi, is convinced by the Planning Commission that the government should award more contracts under the tolling mode.
Gadkari said the NHAI was working on setting up an InvIT to monetise its projects for mobilising resources through capital markets.
"We have sought assistance from World Bank for 37,000 km of roads as we plan to take up work on these projects soon," Road Minister C P Joshi told reporters after a meeting with a World Bank delegation, headed by its South Asia Region Vice President Isabel Guerrero.
The Planning Commission on Monday lowered the target for construction of roads under the NHDP scheme to 2,500 km for the current fiscal from 3,165 km in the previous year, which was not met by the road ministry.
Besides projects under the NHAI, the government earmarks funds for constructing roads, undertaken by various state government agencies and municipal corporations. Nath will be seeking Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) for this.
The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry proposes to build a huge network of expressways by 2022, also the final year of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan.The ministry plans to build expressways in 3 phases -- by 2012, 2017 and 2022 -- and, accordingly, it has prepared a draft report for a network of the proposed 17,661-km of stretches.The report has suggested the government set up the proposed expressways on both an annuity and a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.
A webportal has been launched with information concerning toll plazas on national highways and expressways
The ministry was supposed to send the policy for Cabinet clearance by February end.
Road builders have been asking for one to resolve various contract disputes and renegotiate others.
'Toll system can never end though the rates may vary from time to time. Toll is my brain child'
Kamal Nath will need to watch his back because given the slender majority, there is no doubt that the BJP will try to topple his government.
As part of efforts to curb pollution, the Centre is in the final stage of completing the Rs 10 crore pilot project under which 10 refurbished electric buses will be handed over to select State Transport Corporations by March 2016.
NHAI to pay only Rs 175-200 cr as it takes over from concessionaire
The driver of the ill-fated Hyderabad-bound Volvo bus was overstressed and there were fire crackers inside the vehicle, according to findings of an investigation that probed two recent road mishaps in which 52 persons were killed.
Two years ago, India was touted as a rare bright spot in a gloomy global economy with GDP growth outpacing a slowing China.
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