Bharatmala Pariyojana, Objective, Current Status, Challenges

Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella programme of the Government of India aimed at transforming the country’s National Highway network through integrated, corridor-based and multi-modal connectivity planning. It was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in October 2017, and it subsumed the residual works of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

Bharatmala Pariyojana seeks to improve freight and passenger movement, reduce logistics costs, decongest major corridors and strengthen connectivity with economic centres, ports, border areas and remote regions. Unlike the earlier piecemeal approach, Bharatmala adopts a macro-level network planning approach to optimise highway infrastructure. It is therefore an important component of India’s broader logistics, infrastructure and economic development strategy.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Overview

Bharatmala Pariyojana was conceived to address gaps in India’s highway network through coordinated development of economic corridors, expressways, feeder routes, border roads and port connectivity. It represents a shift from project-based highway development towards integrated corridor planning.

• Nature: An umbrella highway development programme subsuming the residual works of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
• Implementing Agencies: NHAI, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and State Public Works Departments.
• Core Approach: Shift from a piecemeal, corridor-by-corridor approach to integrated, macro-level network planning for efficient freight and passenger movement.
• Phase-I Target: 34,800 km of National Highways.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Objectives

Bharatmala Pariyojana aims to create an efficient, safe and economically integrated highway network by addressing critical infrastructure and connectivity gaps.

• Optimise Mobility: Bharatmala improves the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country.
• Bridge Infrastructure Gaps: Bharatmala addresses critical highway gaps through integrated interventions rather than isolated projects.
• Improve Economic Connectivity: Bharatmala connects major production and consumption centres, economic corridors, ports and border areas.
• Reduce Logistics Costs: Bharatmala lowers logistics costs as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and strengthens India’s position in global logistics performance.
• Decongest Corridors: Bharatmala reduces congestion through bypasses, lane expansion, elevated corridors and expressways.
• Enhance Road Safety: Bharatmala improves road design, decongestion and accident-response infrastructure.
• Promote Inclusive Connectivity: Bharatmala extends road connectivity to tribal, aspirational and Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts.

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Bharatmala Pariyojana Features

Bharatmala Phase-I adopts an integrated approach to highway development by combining economic, strategic, port and last-mile connectivity with modern financing and execution mechanisms.

• Economic Corridors: Bharatmala Pariyojana connects major production and consumption centres to facilitate efficient freight movement, such as the Delhi–Mumbai Economic Corridor, Amritsar–Jamnagar Corridor and Bengaluru–Mangaluru Corridor.
• Inter-Corridor & Feeder Routes: Bharatmala Pariyojana provides first- and last-mile connectivity to economic corridors.
  • Examples: Solapur–Aurangabad, Nashik–Pune and Nagpur–Narsinghpur inter-corridor routes in Maharashtra.
• National Corridor Efficiency Improvement: Bharatmala Pariyojana aims to decongest and improve existing major national corridors through lane expansion, bypasses and elevated corridors.
• Border & International Connectivity Roads: Bharatmala Pariyojana strengthens strategic border infrastructure and connectivity with neighbouring countries, such as components of international border and connectivity roads adjacent to Myanmar.
• Coastal & Port Connectivity Roads: Improve road connectivity to ports and coastal areas, supporting trade and port-led development.
  • Examples include Karad–Chiplun–Jaigad Port and JNPT connectivity projects in Maharashtra.
• Greenfield Expressways: Bharatmala Pariyojana develops access-controlled, high-capacity expressways on high-traffic corridors.
  • Examples: Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, Ahmedabad–Dholera Expressway and Bengaluru–Chennai Expressway.
• Balance National Highway Development Programme Works: Bharatmala Pariyojana also aims to complete residual and incomplete projects inherited from the National Highways Development Project.
• Multiple Funding Sources: Financing is supported through budgetary allocation, market borrowings, the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and asset monetisation.
• Asset Monetisation: Existing highway assets under the Bharatmala Pariyojana are monetised through Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)-based models to recycle capital.
• Multiple Execution Models: Projects are implemented through Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC), Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), and PPP models such as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll models.
• Integrated Planning: Highway development under Bharatmala Pariyojana is increasingly aligned with PM GatiShakti to promote multimodal and integrated infrastructure planning.
  • Also, road sector projects outlined in Phase-1 of the Bharatmala Pariyojana form a major financial and physical subset of the broader National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) roadmap.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Current Status

Bharatmala has made substantial progress in highway development, with ongoing construction despite execution delays.

• Overall Physical Progress: 21,597 km out of 26,425 km awarded has been completed as of November 2025. Major progress has been recorded in Economic Corridors, Balance NHDP Works, Inter-Corridor Roads and Expressways.
• Component-wise Progress: Economic Corridors (6,896 km length completed/8,737 km total length), Inter-Corridor Roads (2,397/2,889 km), Expressways (1,994/2,422 km) and Border & International Connectivity Roads (1,466/1,619 km) have recorded significant completion.
• Financing Pattern: Projects under Bharatmala Pariyojana have been implemented mainly through EPC (56%) and HAM (43%), while BOT-Toll accounts for only 1%, indicating limited private participation in traffic-risk-based projects.
• Progress Trend: Construction increased from 15,549 km in December 2023 to 19,826 km in February 2025 and 21,597 km by November 2025.
• Flagship Projects: Major completed projects under Bharatmala include the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Delhi–Meerut Expressway, the Atal Tunnel, the Chenani–Nashri Tunnel, the Dhola–Sadiya Bridge, the Bogibeel Bridge, the Sudarshan Setu, and the Z-Morh Tunnel.
• Multimodal Logistics: 35 Multimodal Logistics Parks have been planned with an investment of around ₹46,000 crore, supporting integration of road transport with other modes.
• Wayside Amenities: More than 700 Wayside Amenities are planned to improve driver welfare, passenger convenience and road-user services along national highways.
• Asset Monetisation: Around ₹1.52 lakh crore has been mobilised through TOT, InvIT and SPV-based asset monetisation till November 2025, helping recycle capital for new infrastructure.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Challenges

Despite significant progress, CAG's audit of Phase I highlighted concerns relating to planning, financing, appraisal, fund management and execution.

• Inflated Baseline: CAG observed that, after optimisation, 34,972 km (49.29%) of the 70,950 km NHAI highway length identified under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I (BPP-I) had already been developed or awarded under earlier schemes, raising concerns about exaggeration of Bharatmala's incremental achievement.
• Legacy Bottlenecks: Incomplete NHDP projects were absorbed into Bharatmala despite unresolved issues relating to land acquisition, right of way and forest clearances.
• Skewed Financing Mix: Against the approved financing mix of 30% EPC, 60% HAM and 10% BOT-Toll, actual execution has remained heavily tilted towards EPC and HAM, with BOT-Toll at only around 1% in November 2025.
• Weak Prioritisation: A significant portion of high-priority corridors remained unawarded, indicating gaps in systematic prioritisation and completion planning in the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
• Rising Project Costs: Average project cost reportedly increased from around ₹14 crore/km to ₹24 crore/km, raising concerns regarding cost escalation in the Bharatmala.
• Fund Management Issues: CAG flagged instances where funds from other schemes were used while reporting Bharatmala achievements, affecting the clarity of scheme-wise financial reporting.
• Weak Appraisal Discipline: Several sampled projects reportedly proceeded to tendering without the prescribed appraisal by the Project Appraisal and Technical Scrutiny Committee.
• Tendering Irregularities: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India identified instances involving non-compliant bidders and inadequate/inaccurate Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
• Execution Delays: The programme, initially targeted for completion by 2022, remains incomplete; its deadline has subsequently been revised to 2027-28.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Way Forward

The next phase should focus less on merely expanding the highway pipeline and more on timely completion, financial sustainability, transparency and multimodal integration.

• Rationalise Targets: Exclude already-built or previously awarded stretches while assessing incremental Bharatmala achievements to ensure transparent performance measurement.
• Resolve Pre-Award Bottlenecks: Complete land acquisition, right-of-way and forest clearances before awarding projects to minimise execution delays.
• Promote BOT-Toll: Increase the role of BOT-Toll wherever commercially viable to reduce dependence on public expenditure and NHAI borrowing.
• Strengthen Asset Recycling: Expand TOT and InvIT-based monetisation to recycle existing highway assets and finance new infrastructure.
• Improve Project Prioritisation: Apply clear CCEA-approved criteria to prioritise high-impact corridors with defined completion timelines.
• Strengthen Appraisal: Ensure mandatory technical and financial appraisal before tendering, along with greater use of digital and transparent tender evaluation.
• Improve Fund Transparency: Maintain clear scheme-wise fund mapping to prevent overlapping reporting and ensure accurate assessment of Bharatmala expenditure.
• Integrate with PM GatiShakti: Align remaining Bharatmala projects with PM GatiShakti's multimodal planning framework to create integrated logistics networks rather than isolated road corridors.