Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme

Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme 

Subject :Economy

Context:

Kerala’s 625-km coastal highway project connecting nine districts has received a fillip following a recent meeting convened by the State PWD Minister.

Details:

• The coastal highway will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.
• It will be  funded by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board 
• The Kerala Road Fund Board project management unit will construct 468 km, and the remaining work to be taken up by National Highways Authority of India under the BharatMala Pariyojana Scheme.
• The project can be taken up through a PPP route. 
• The project will be highly beneficial for the hassle-free movement of container laden trailers from Malabar region to Vallarpadam Terminal or to the proposed Vizhinjam terminal.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme.

• Bharatmala Pariyojana is a new umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions like development 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.
• All key aspects of the scheme will be managed by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry of the country.
• The ambitious umbrella programme will subsume all existing Highway Projects including the flagship National Highways Development Project (NHDP), launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998.
• Highlights of Bharatmala Pariyojana
  • Improvement in efficiency of existing corridors through development of Multimodal Logistics Parks and elimination of choke point
  • Enhance focus on improving connectivity in North East and leveraging synergies with Inland Waterways
  • Emphasis on use of technology & scientific planning for Project Preparation and Asset Monitoring
  • Delegation of powers to expedite project delivery – Phase I to complete by 2022
  • Improving connectivity in the North East
• Components
  • Economic Corridor – As per the guidelines of the road construction project, the construction of 9000kms of Economic Corridors will be undertaken by the central government.
  • Feeder Route or Inter Corridor – The total length of the roads, which fall under the Feeder Route or Inter Corridor category, is a whopping 6000kms.
  • National Corridor Efficiency Improvement – 5000kms of roads, constructed under the scheme will fall in the category of National Corridor for the better connection between roads.
  • Border Road and International Connectivity – Connecting the cities and remote areas, which are situated in the border regions, the project has kept provision for constructing 2000kms roads that fall in the Border Road or International Connectivity category.
  • Port Connectivity and Coastal Road – To connect the areas that are dotted along the shorelines and important ports, the central government has ordered the construction of 2000km of roads.
  • Green Field Expressway – The main stress will be given on the construction and development of GreenField Expressway for better management of traffic and freight.
  • Balance NHDP Works – Under the last segment, the project will see a construction and maintenance of about 10,000kms of new roads.
• Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana, implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been approved at an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,35,000 crore.
• Phase-II envisages around 48,000 km of road network across India by 2024.