Over 50% of India’s Ongoing National Highway Projects Delayed Including 14 in Gujarat

More than half of the National Highway construction projects across India have missed their original completion deadlines.

Data presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shows that out of 1,191 active infrastructure projects, a staggering 629 have spilled past their scheduled completion dates. The figures submitted by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in response to a question by MP Mahendra Bhatt exclude projects currently facing termination or foreclosure.

While infrastructure expansion remains a cornerstone of the central government’s development agenda, execution bottlenecks continue to slow progress in key industrial corridors. In Gujarat, 14 out of 40 active National Highway construction projects have spilled past their original completion targets.

Maharashtra, UP, and Karnataka Lead Delayed Highway Count

The official parliamentary disclosure outlines a wide geographical spread of delayed projects, with some of India's largest states bearing the heaviest brunt.

• Maharashtra tops the list for both total ongoing construction and project delays, with 60 out of its 118 highway works running behind schedule.
• Karnataka follows with 47 delayed projects out of 77 active sites.
• Uttar Pradesh records 44 delayed works out of 87 ongoing developments.
• Andhra Pradesh has 42 out of 69 projects lagging behind original timelines.
• Bihar reports delays in 35 of its 67 under-construction stretches.

In several smaller and northeastern states, almost the entirety of ongoing highway construction has overshot target dates. Kerala reported delays in 15 out of 16 ongoing projects, Nagaland saw 16 out of 19 projects miss deadlines, and Sikkim recorded delays in 9 of its 11 active sites.

Statutory Clearances and Land Acquisition Drive Timelines off Course

While the specific ministry statement did not detail line-item causes for every delayed site, recurring execution hurdles in highway development typically involve protracted land acquisition, delayed environmental and forest clearances, utility shifting, and contractor financial constraints.

To counter persistent delays, the ministry has increasingly turned to digital tracking mechanisms such as the BhoomiRashi portal for land compensation and the revamped Parivesh platform for environmental clearances. Meanwhile, strict enforcement measures remain in place for underperforming agencies, with the government penalising or blacklisting over a hundred contractors across recent financial years for quality failures and execution lags.