Maintenance of National Highways

National Highways (NH) are the backbone of Indian economy and lifelines of the states, and their regular maintenance and repair are critical for smooth transport of goods and passenger vehicles. The annual outlay earmarked in the Union Budget for maintenance and repair of NH is only about 40% of the estimated requirement which explains the dilapidated condition of many stretches of national highways in different states. In the northeast region, ravaging annual floods and landslides add to the problem. The Ministry of Transport and Highways informed a parliamentary panel that shortfall of about 60% of the requirement leads to thin spreading of resources and is one of the main reasons for inability to take up timely maintenance interventions. Various types of maintenance and repair works undertaken on NHs listed by the Ministry are Ordinary Repairs, Periodic Renewals, Special Repairs and Emergent/ Flood Damage Repairs. Ordinary Repairs involve routine maintenance, such as maintenance of culverts, patch/ pot-hole repairs, crack sealing, roadside drainage, repairing of shoulders, etc. Periodic Renewal involves provision of renewal coat to the wearing surface at a predetermined frequency. This is done to safeguard the road crust and at the same time giving pavement a better riding surface. Special repairs works are urgent works of original nature, such as repairs to culverts, bridges, etc. while Emergent/ Flood Damage Repair works are immediate repairs to roads affected by heavy rains/ flood, cyclone, landslides, sand dunes, etc. to restore traffic, stated the Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism Culture. The Ministry also informed a Sub-Committee constituted by the parliamentary panel that for the NH stretches developed on Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode, the contractor is responsible for remedying the defects and the concurrent maintenance of the highway project during the four years defect liability period after completion of the work. The Ministry informed that for NH stretches developed on BOT (Build Operate Transfer)mode/ HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model- a mix of EPC and BOT-annuity model), the Concessionaire is responsible for the maintenance of the project highway during the concession period. For some of the developed NH stretches through public funding, maintenance contracts have been taken up for a definite period (4 to 9 years) on Operate, Maintenance and Transfer (OMT) basis. The maintenance of the project highway under OMT contracts is the responsibility of the Concessionaire. While these technical details explain the stakes of the Ministry and road builders in maintenance of NHs, for general users, the highways remaining smooth and safe is of utmost concern to them. The parliamentary committee feels that the shortfall of sufficient budgetary allocation is reflected in the "sub-par quality of National Highways that is often witnessed across the country." In its report titled "Issues relating to road sector" presented to the Parliament, the Committee insists that "Maintenance and Repair of the existing National Highways is of utmost importance in order to keepthem in a safe, pliable condition and to permit good average traffic speeds. This should be given higher priority than construction of new National Highways." The report further states that the Committee has been repeatedly recommending a much higher budgetary allocation for maintenance and repair of NH in it previous reports. The NITI Ayaog also in its report "Strategy for New India @ 75" advocates that India should begin with earmarking 10% of its annual budget for maintenance of roads and highways to move towards the developed country norm of earmarking 40% of the budget. To the contrary, the Committee finds that year-after-year, the actual budgetary allocation made for Maintenance and Repair of National Highways remains less than even 4 per cent of the annual budget. The parliamentary panel has recommended that 100% requirement for Maintenance and Repair projected by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should be allocated in the budget. Any reduction in the budget for maintenance and repair may result in "deterioration of the roads constructed with hundreds of crores of National Budget which will be national wastage", it cautions. Other recommendations include introduction of provision to assess the condition of new NHs at a defined time period after their operationalisation, for gaps in construction, rutting and high number of potholes on the highway, strict action against the road contractor as well as the approving authorities in case substantial degradation of the NH is observed within a short period of operationalization of a newly constructed NH.The Committee also recommends to the government to undertake the cost-benefit analysis of the bituminous roads and cement concrete roads and expressed the view that the cement concrete pavement has a high initial investment but longer life of 20 or so years in contrast with bitumen roads with lifespan of 4-5 years. Prioritising maintenance and repair of NH in the Union Budget will ensure faster and smooth ride for national and state economies.