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The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the construction of four-lane Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram Section of NH-87 in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 1,853 crore. The project will be developed on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a capital cost of Rs 1,853 crore, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while briefing on the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting. Currently, connectivity between Madurai, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram, Mandapam, Rameshwaram, and Dhanushkodi is dependent on the existing 2-lane National Highway 87 (NH-87) and associated State Highways, which experience significant congestion due to high traffic volumes, especially in densely populated stretches and key towns along the corridor. To address these challenges, the project will upgrade approximately 46.7 km of NH-87 from Paramakudi to Ramanathapuram to a 4-lane configuration, an official release said. This will decongest the existing corridor, improve safety, and cater to the mobility needs of rapidly growing towns such as ...
NHAI's Rajmargyatra app will have a new feature from next month to inform motorists about the route attracting least amount of toll between two destinations, a senior government official has said. Rajmargyatra provides travellers with comprehensive information about national highways and also offers them an efficient grievance redressal mechanism. Citing an example, Amrit Singha, Chief Product officer, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) of Indian Highways Management Company (IHMCL) said there are three routes to travel to Lucknow from Delhi and the app will help commuter choose the best one. "You can travel to Lucknow from Delhi via Yamuna Expressway, or travel by crossing Ghaziabad-Aligarh-Kanpur-Lucknow or Moradabad-Bareilly-Sitapur-Lucknow...The app will inform motorists about the route which will attract least amount of toll between Delhi and Lucknow," Singha said. He rued that two and three-wheeler riders are illegally entering the access-controlled Delhi-Gudgaon and ..
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has pre-paid loans of worth Rs 56,000 crore during the current fiscal, helping the state-owned agency to save interest cost of around Rs 1,200 crore, a senior government official said on Sunday. The official told PTI that NHAI's total debt at the beginning of the current fiscal year was pegged at Rs 3.35 lakh crore, which stood at about Rs 2.76 lakh crore at the end of third quarter of 2024-25 fiscal year. He further said that around Rs 15,700 crore has been pre-paid from the InvIT monetisation proceeds, while Rs 40,000 crore prepayment of loan has been made to National Small Saving Fund (Rs 30,000 crore) and State Bank of India (Rs 10,000 crore), which charge high interest rates. "NHAI is successfully reducing its debt liability," the official added. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her last year's budget had retained the allocation to NHAI at Rs 1.68 lakh crore for 2024-25.
The 270-km Jammu-Srinagar highway was on Sunday reopened for vehicular traffic after a day-long closure due to heavy snowfall, allowing stranded vehicles to proceed to their respective destinations, officials said. However, several other important inter-district routes, including the Mughal Road, Sinthan Pass, Sonamarg-Kargil inter-UT road, and Bhaderwah-Chamba inter-state road, remained closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall. "The highway has been reopened today following the clearance of snow accumulated on various stretches of the road," a traffic official said. The stranded vehicles along the highway are being cleared, he added. "Passenger traffic is plying on the highway. Commuters are advised to follow lane discipline, as overtaking may cause congestion," J-K Traffic Police said in an advisory. It also advised commuters to drive cautiously, as the road is slippery between Banihal and Qazigund. The Mughal Road, which serves as an alternative link to the Kashmir V
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to launch the Odisha government's flagship women-centric initiative, Subhadra Yojana, besides other railway and national highway projects during his visit to the eastern state on Tuesday. PM Modi's visit to Odisha on his 74th birthday would be the first after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on June 12. He is scheduled to reach Biju Patnaik International Airport here around 10.50 am, officials said. Under Subhadra Yojna, named after Goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Balabhadra and Lord Jagannath, all eligible women between the age of 21-60 years would receive Rs 50,000 over a period of five years between 2024-25 and 2028-29. An amount of Rs 10,000 per annum would be credited in two installments directly to their accounts. The initiative is expected to cover more than 1 crore women. PM Modi would initiate the fund transfer into the bank accounts of more than 10 lakh women during the day, the offic
Indian Highways Management Company Ltd (IHMCL), toll collecting arm of state-owned NHAI, has advised highway users to buy FASTags from 32 authorised banks sans Paytm Payments Bank for hassle-free travel. In a post on X, IHMCL said for hassle-free travel, buy your FASTag from 32 authorised banks. The 32 authorised banks include Airtel Payments Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, and Yes Bank, among others. On January 31, the Reserve Bank directed Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer accounts, wallets, FASTTags and other instruments after February 29. However, any interest, cashbacks, or refunds may be credited back to customers anytime. The direction followed persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns, the central bank had said in a statement. IHMCL has said it is encouraging FASTag users to complete the 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) .