The centre has completed the de-congestion of 52 choke points under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. Responding to questions in the Lok Sabha, Minister for Road, Transport, and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said that 191 such points of congestion on the National Highways corridor network were identified.

“Of the 191 choke points, de-congestion projects have already been completed in 56 congestion points and de-congestion projects are under implementation in 83 congestion points,” Gadkari said, adding that the work on the remaining 52 congestions points will be awarded for construction by the financial year 2024-25.

The Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages a corridor approach in place of the existing package-based approach which has, in many cases, resulted in skewed development. There is a presence of multiple points of local congestion even on already-developed corridors, driven by the interaction of the local city traffic with the highway traffic. This leads to a drop in vehicular speed and higher accidents on highways.

At 10, the maximum number of completed de-congestion projects are in Maharashtra, while another 21 are awarded in the state. There are nine completed projects in Uttar Pradesh while seven are in Rajasthan.

Gadkari also said that the Roads Ministry has set a target of constructing 12,200 kilometres of National Highways during 2022-23, against which 4,766 km have been constructed till November 2022.

In another statement, Gadkari said that National Highway (NH) upgradation works in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh worth Rs 1121.95 crore have been approved.

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