National highway projects delayed over land acquisition hurdles & forest clearances: Gadkari

Land Acquisition and Environmental Clearances Emerge as Key Bottlenecks

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has attributed the slowdown in national highway construction to delays in land acquisition and environment and forest clearances, signaling that these administrative hurdles have become the primary impediments to infrastructure development. Speaking to lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha, Gadkari clarified that funding constraints have not contributed to project delays, contrary to what some observers had suggested. Instead, the ministry has deliberately implemented stricter project readiness norms, requiring at least 90 percent of land acquisition to be completed and all environmental clearances to be secured before issuing work orders. This strategic decision, while causing a temporary slowdown, is intended to ensure smoother on-ground execution and prevent cost overruns once construction commences.

The impact of these delays is evident in the figures. National highway construction slowed to approximately 17 kilometers per day during the fiscal year 2026 through November 2025, significantly below the government's targeted pace of 10,000 kilometers for the full fiscal year and trailing performance levels from prior years. This represents a noticeable dip in highway progress in 2025 and early 2026, with industry analysts pointing to a moderation in execution, slower project award processes, and delays caused by land acquisition issues and statutory approvals. The situation underscores the complexity of balancing infrastructure development with proper regulatory procedures.

Specific Projects and Regional Impact

The challenges are not uniformly distributed across the country. In Odisha, where the total national highway length spans approximately 5,872 kilometers across all 30 districts, the state has received significant allocations for highway development and maintenance. The Centre allocated Rs 6,121 crore to Odisha in 2024-25, with 1,418 kilometers of national highways currently under development in the state. However, specific projects have faced setbacks—work on five high-level bridges on NH-326, the Malkangiri-Motu road, has been terminated due to slow progress by the contractor, with remaining work now at the bid stage for selection of a new contractor.

Andhra Pradesh is experiencing similar challenges, with projects worth Rs 71,682 crore currently under execution. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to complete pending land acquisition processes within 100 days for nearly 630 hectares required for highway projects. The state government acknowledges that while construction is progressing swiftly along several stretches, bottlenecks in land acquisition have slowed works in certain districts. Kadapa district alone is implementing 13 highway projects worth Rs 10,621 crore, yet 198.38 hectares of land remain to be acquired.

Government's Strategy for Accelerating Progress

The central government has initiated a multi-pronged strategy to address these bottlenecks. The approach involves faster statutory clearances, timely land acquisition, swifter dispute resolution, and prompt fund release of allocated resources. Authorities are conducting more frequent progress reviews with implementing agencies to prevent issues from escalating into prolonged stoppages. The objective is ambitious: clearing the backlog of stalled national highway projects by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2026.

The development of national highways is an ongoing process aimed at strengthening connectivity to aspirational districts, tribal regions, industrial hubs, tourist centers and heritage sites. Periodic reviews are held at various levels to resolve bottlenecks and ensure timely progress of road projects in these regions.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, 152 national highway projects were running behind schedule. Over the past months, 54 of these have already been resolved, reducing the number of delayed projects to 98. The next milestone is to bring this figure down to approximately 60 by March 2026, representing nearly a 60 percent reduction in pending projects. Key projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, and Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway are expected to progress more rapidly with these interventions, improving regional connectivity and supporting broader economic development.

Financial Commitment and Future Outlook

The government has demonstrated its commitment to infrastructure development through substantial budgetary allocations. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways received an allocation of approximately Rs 3.10 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2026-27, an increase from the previous year's outlay, aimed at supporting national highways, expressways, freight corridors, maintenance works, and ancillary connectivity projects. This enhanced budgetary provision is intended to sustain infrastructure momentum as execution catches up with planning.

Despite these efforts, the broader challenge remains. As of January 2024, a substantial 780 out of 1,821 central projects were experiencing delays, resulting in an estimated cost overrun of Rs 4.8 lakh crore. Infrastructure projects like the Bangalore-Chennai Expressway have seen work cease due to contractor financial instability, while segments of other expressways face contract terminations citing issues such as delayed land acquisition and environmental clearances. Minister Gadkari has expressed confidence that as land acquisition hurdles are cleared and statutory approvals are obtained, highway construction momentum will improve, with expectations to return to the pace of around 30 kilometers per day. The focus on project readiness norms represents a deliberate shift toward ensuring infrastructure quality and timely delivery, even if it requires patience in the short term. The successful resolution of current bottlenecks will be crucial in determining whether India can sustain its ambitious infrastructure development goals and realize its vision for comprehensive national connectivity.