India’s largest highway development programme, the Bharatmala Pariyojana, has seen substantial progress, with over 22,500 Km of roads constructed across the country as of March 2026, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement on Tuesday, 6 June.
Bharatmala Pariyojana was approved in 2017 with an overall target of 34,800 Km of highways aimed at improving connectivity and reducing logistics costs nationwide.
“Under Bharatmala, 22,590 km of roads have been completed till 31st March 2026. Several landmark projects under the plan improved mobility across difficult terrains and strategic regions,” the ministry said in a PIB backgrounder released on Tuesday.
Read also : NHAI pushes technology-led highway maintenance with automated repairs and drain cleaning
The Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which along with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors are expected to carry majority of the Freight Traffic on roads, according to the information on the website of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
Further, about 8,000 km of Inter Corridors and about 7,500 km of Feeder Routes have been identified for improving effectiveness of Economic Corridors, GQ and NS-EW Corridors.
The programme envisages development of Ring Roads or bypasses and elevated corridors to decongest the traffic passing through cities and enhance logistic efficiency; 28 cities have been identified for Ring Roads; 125 choke points and 66 congestion points have been identified for their improvements.
Further, in order to reduce congestion on proposed Corridors, enhance logistic efficiency and reduce logistics costs of freight movements, 35 locations have been identified for development of Multimodal Logistics Parks.
Read also : Zojila tunnel breakthrough brings all-weather connectivity between Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh closer
