Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in June announced that he had expedited 280 national highway projects which would now be completed before the Lok Sabha elections next year. These include 127 National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) projects and 153 ministry projects, which were scheduled for completion by June 2019. “All these projects are now targeted for expedited completion by March 2019 before the Model Code of Conduct is imposed in the country for the (Lok Sabha) elections,” Mr Gadkari told reporters.

In addition, there are about 100 projects that are going to be completed by December 2018, he added. The Minister said the construction target of NHAI for 2018-19 has also been revised upwards from 5,058 km to 6,000 km. He expressed confidence that the organisation would surpass this target. However, he added, the projects of Maharashtra and the Northeastern states remain to be reviewed, and the meeting for this will be held soon. Mr Gadkari's remarks came after an extensive, state-wise review of over 700 ongoing national highway projects in the country across 20 states. “During the marathon two-day review held in Goa earlier this week, it was realised that delay in land acquisition, utility shifting, environment clearance and permission for cutting of trees are some of the main reasons for delay of highways projects,” he said.