Nearly 500 NH projects face delays across the country

Despite the government's ambitious targets for road infrastructure, as many as 489 National Highway projects remain incomplete across the country, well past their scheduled completion by March 2025. The information, laid out in a detailed reply by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Parliament, exposes the growing backlog in the sector, with mounting delays, administrative inertia and rising costs now becoming a norm rather than an exception.

These pending works, according to the minister, are stuck due to a combination of issues, ranging from land acquisition troubles and forest or wildlife clearance delays to sluggish railway approvals and the shifting of utilities. In several cases, slow progress by contractors and unforeseeable disruptions have also hindered the timeline. The Centre claims it is coordinating closely with state governments and relevant agencies to resolve the bottlenecks, but the backlog points to deeper structural concerns.

While the government did not confirm a blanket 35 percent cost overrun, it admitted that many of these delayed projects have incurred significant cost escalations. These are largely driven by factors like inflated land compensation rates, rising input costs, the impact of GST, changes in road and bridge design to meet new technical standards, and increased public demands for additional infrastructure such as underpasses and overbridges.

Notably, in projects where delays have become untenable, the ministry has begun terminating or foreclosing contracts and re-awarding them — sometimes with modifications to the project scope. Yet, this reactive approach highlights a pattern of misaligned planning and execution that continues to plague infrastructure delivery.

In an attempt to fix the systemic gaps, the ministry issued a policy directive on May 6, 2025, mandating all implementing agencies to follow specific milestones for land acquisition and environmental clearances before project approvals, awards, and the declaration of appointed dates. The step is intended to prevent premature project launches and reduce future disputes.