National highways will now be built keeping in mind the damage caused by floods. For this, new highway construction rules will be prepared. To prepare the draft of the new rules, the Ministry of Road and Transport of the Central Government has sent guidelines to the concerned departments. The National Highways Authority of India has about 50,329 km long routes across the country. Recently, Union Minister for Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari had called a meeting regarding the damage caused by the flood situation. In this, a decision has been taken to change the design of the route in the states.
The new format will be as per the set standards and will be prepared with the help of technical agencies. The norms in the states will be decided keeping in view the rise in water level and flood situation. The Ministry has also ordered the concerned officials to take cognizance of the studies done in this regard and has been asked to send the report to the Ministry at the earliest.
Written orders have been issued to the General Secretary India Road Congress (IRC) for amendment. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also called a meeting regarding the condition of highways across the country. National Disaster Management Authority and top officials of the respective states also participated in this. In the meeting, the Home Minister also ordered to mobilize for the preparations for the monsoon, as the roads have been damaged in the past due to floods in the low-lying areas of Yamuna and Ganga. Its effect has also come to the fore in the hill states. Government agencies believe that by amending the rules, highways in such states can avoid situations like floods and excessive rains.
At present, the longest highways in the country are in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The India Road Congress (IRC) is responsible for framing the rules of the highway. It is this institution that conducts such studies and through this standards are set for the improvement of the quality of highways. The institution makes its recommendation to the central government after studying the vehicular burden on the route and other factors, which are then implemented.
To improve the condition of highways, after 2000, four recommendations have been sent to the central government on the basis of studies. Based on this, work is done on the construction of roads.