MoRTH spends 91% of budgetary allocation by year-end

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will spend nearly 91 per cent of its budgetary allocation by the year-end. The total gross budgetary outlay of the ministry for financial year 2023-24 is Rs 2,58,606 crore, and the actual expenditure in the first two months is already nearly Rs 60,000 crore.According to sources, the ministry is accelerating the process of highway construction and land acquisition. A total of 170 land acquisition notifications have been issued and compensation of approximately Rs 210 crore has already been processed by the Ministry. Aggressive spending by the ministry indicates that the highways sector can absorb more money in its ecosystem.Ministry officials added that national highway construction was up 10 per cent on year in May with 1,465 km of national highways constructed versus 1,307 km in the corresponding period in 2022-23.In May, around 382 km of fresh road construction contracts were awarded, which is lower than 496 km awarded during the same period in the previous year.