Centre scraps fixed highway targets: States to pick priority projects; move aimed at faster execution

In a major policy shift, the union ministry of road transport and highways has scrapped the practice of assigning fixed construction targets to states. Instead, it will now work jointly with states and collaborate in order to set floating targets for building national highways, expressways, and greenfield corridors, reported ET.Under the new approach, the centre will propose multiple infrastructure projects in each selected state, allowing state governments to choose and prioritise the ones they wish to pursue, moving away from the earlier system where states were required to execute centrally assigned projects.A senior government official told the financial daily that the measure has been taken with the aim of timely completion of projects.

And based on the necessary regulatory approvals and progress in land acquisition the floating targets would be set."The idea is to get projects off the ground to avoid delays that often result in huge time and cost overrun," the official added. This would allow states to cut the duration of project completion, as they can choose to take-up projects with prior basic approvals."It is a win-win for both Centre as well as states.

There will be a bouquet of roads offered to states for development and states will be allowed to proceed with projects where they see some progress," an industry expert was quoted as saying, adding this will help fast-track completion of pending projects also.Though the ministry of road transport and highways primarily oversees national highway construction, via its autonomous agency, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), state governments play a key supporting role.

They help with land acquisition, resettlement of displaced communities, and securing necessary approvals.For 2025–26, the centre has set a target of constructing 10,000 km of highways, slightly below the 10,421 km goal for 2024–25. Similarly, the road asset monetisation target for the current fiscal year has been revised down to ₹30,000 crore, compared to ₹39,000 crore in the previous year.In addition, the centre provides financial assistance to state governments and union territories (UT’s) for the development and upkeep of state roads through the central road & infrastructure fund (CRIF) scheme. For the fiscal year 2024–25, ₹9,030 crore has been allocated under this scheme.