The growth of every nation is dependent on transportation networks and how they are maintained. Construction of new and developed roads is required to link the areas and ensure a smooth flow of traffic. The execution of the BharatmalaPariyojana would achieve the same result.
BharatmalaPariyojana is a new umbrella initiative for the roads sector envisioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with the goal of improving the efficiency of freight and passenger traffic across the country.
Bridging important infrastructure gaps, such as the building 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, improves efficiency.
Phase-I of the BharatmalaPariyojana has approved the construction of 34,800 km of national roads over five years (from 2017 to 2022) at an estimated cost of Rs. 5,35,000 crore.
The Bharatmala project aims to improve the efficiency of the National Corridor, which includes the Golden Quadrilateral and the North, South, East, and West corridors, by decongesting choke points through the construction of elevated corridors, bypasses, ring roads, lane expansion, and logistics parks at strategic locations. The project plan calls for the development of key border roads along international borders, as well as international connectivity roads to increase commerce with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
The initiative has identified about 26,200 kilometres of Economic Corridors or routes with high freight traffic. The initiative is to build the specified Economic Corridors with substantial freight traffic from beginning to end to provide smooth, quick travel and standardisation. Feeder Corridors will be built to solve infrastructure imbalance in numerous regions.
All Bharatmala projects must be technically, fiscally, and economically evaluated by an authorised Project Appraisal & Technical Scrutiny Committee to be established at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
The use of scientific and technical planning for project preparation and asset monitoring is emphasised. Satellite mapping of routes to detect upgrade needs. Delegation of authority to accelerate project delivery in order to complete Phase I by 2022.
In Phase I of Bharatmala, around 24,800 kilometres are being examined. Furthermore, BharatmalaPariyojana Phase I comprises 10,000 kilometres of balance road works under NHDP, bringing the total to 34,800 kms at a cost of Rs.5,35,000 crore. Phase I of Bharatmala would be implemented during a five-year period, from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
The country’s Road Transport and Highways Ministry will oversee all major parts of the plan. The government would fund Bharatmala through four main channels: market borrowings, the Central Road Fund, the monetization of government-owned road assets, and budgetary allocation.
These are integrated infrastructural networks within a geographical region that are intended to support economic growth. According to the parameters of the road development project, the federal government will construct 9000 kilometres of Economic Corridors. One of the primary goals of the BharatmalaPariyojana.
The overall length of the highways classified as Feeder Routes or Inter Corridors is 6000 kilometres. 5000 kilometres of roads built under the project would be designated as National Corridors to improve road connectivity.
The project has retained provision for developing 2000kms of roads in the Border Road or International Connectivity category to connect cities and distant villages located in border regions. The federal government has authorised the development of 2000km of highways to connect the areas sprinkled around the shorelines and significant ports.
They are free of the limits imposed by previous work on the location. Typically, it requires building on a completely empty site, with architects starting from scratch. The major emphasis will be on the building and development of the Green Field Expressway for better traffic and freight management.
They are constrained by the current state of the site, which may be polluted or include existing structures that architects must demolish or modify in some way before the project can proceed. The last part of the project will involve the building and maintenance of around 10,000 kilometres of new roadways.
To create a significant number of direct and indirect job opportunities in the building and infrastructure sectors, as well as as part of the increased economic activity brought about by improved road connections throughout the country. National highway links will connect 550 districts across the country.
The BharatmalaPariyojana was launched in 2017 with a completion date of 2022. However, recent sources indicate that the project is nowhere near completion because to higher land costs and an increase in the project’s planned budget.
The Central Government is currently searching for greater investments from market funds and any other private investment. If the anticipated budget is not fulfilled, the government plans to auction off finished roadway projects or possibly delve into international loan and bond markets.