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The Supreme Court on Monday orally observed that pre-2018 land acquisition cases cannot be reopened for the grant of compensation with interest to the farmers whose land had been acquired under the NHAI Act. The observation was made by a special bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan while commencing the hearing in an open court of a plea of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), seeking a review of a 2019 verdict of the top court. The apex court, in 2019, held that the decision to grant compensation with interest to farmers whose land was acquired under the NHAI Act would apply retrospectively. The NHAI, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said the 2019 judgement imposed a huge financial burden (approximately Rs 32,000 crore) and should only apply prospectively. The bench had previously rejected this, noting that denying such benefits violated Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. "What perhaps weighed with your lordsh
NHAI has accepted National Highways Infra Trust's offer of Rs 6,220.90 crore for the asset monetisation of two highway sections of 310 kilometres. Asset monetisation has emerged as a strategic tool in NHAI's efforts to unlock the value of existing assets and attract private sector investment. By leveraging models such as Toll-Operate-Transfer (ToT) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT), NHAI has successfully generated funds, which are being reinvested into new National Highway projects. The total National Highways assets monetised during the current financial year are around Rs 28,077 crores. The latest monetised assets span over two states, namely Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, an official statement said. "NHAI has accepted the offer of 'National Highways Infra Trust' (NHIT) amounting to Rs 6,220.90 crores towards asset monetization of two National Highway sections spanning over 310.35 km across two states," Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said on Monday. The
State-owned NHAI is planning to reduce its debt to below Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year ending March, a senior government official said on Sunday. NHAI's debt liability had peaked at Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 2021-22. As of December 31, 2025, the debt stands at Rs 2,35,947 crore. "In line with the government policy, NHAI has not borrowed since 2023 and since then the debt liability was reduced by around 32 per cent," the official said on condition of anonymity. Further, to reduce its overall debt, he said NHAI has prepaid liabilities of Rs 86,000 crore of which Rs 50,000 crore was NSSF loan. "No specific target for the current year was fixed but the debt liability is planned to be brought down below Rs 2,00,000 crore," the official said. Retiring this debt ahead of schedule has resulted in a steep decrease of NHAI debt. Due to proactive negotiation with banks, NHAI was able to reduce its interest burden by refixing interest rates lower by about 80 basis points during t
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday said it has launched a pilot project in two NH corridors for real-time stray cattle safety alert on National Highways to reduce accidents caused by sudden cattle movement. State-owned NHAI, in a statement, said the pilot project is being implemented on the Jaipur-Agra and Jaipur-Rewari NH corridors. As part of this initiative, Reliance Jio has upgraded its platform to enable nationwide delivery of these real-time stray cattle safety alerts. Last month, NHAI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Jio to introduce a telecom-based safety alert system across the National Highway network. The initiative aims to reduce accidents caused by sudden cattle movement on the National Highways, particularly during fog and low-visibility conditions. "Under the pilot project, location-based alerts will be triggered for the National Highway commuters, providing advance warnings approximately 10 km before identified ...
State-owned NHAI-sponsored Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), an official statement said on Wednesday. The statement said the Public InvIT aims to unlock the monetisation potential of the National Highway assets while creating a high-quality, long-term investment instrument primarily targeting retail and domestic investors. The initiative marks an important step in broadening public participation in the National Highway infrastructure growth story, it added. Earlier, NHAI had incorporated Raajmarg Infra Investment Managers Pvt Ltd (RIIMPL) as the Investment Manager for the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT). RIIMPL has been established as a collaborative venture with equity participation from leading banks and financial institutions, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, NaBFID, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv Ventures Ltd., HDFC Bank, ICICI Ba
Markets regulator Sebi has granted in-principle approval to the registration of 'Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust' (RIIT) as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and will get the final nod after it meets specific requirements during the next six months, an official statement said on Friday. As a part of the process to secure final registration, RIIT will be required to meet specific conditions over the next six months. These conditions include appointment of directors, submission of requisite financial statements, and compliance with other regulatory requirements, it added. The statement said InvIT aims to unlock the monetisation potential of the National Highway assets while creating a high-quality, long-term investment instrument primarily targeting retail and domestic investors. under the Sebi Regulations, 2014 Last month, NHAI incorporated Raajmarg Infra Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd. (RIIMPL) as the investment manager for RIIT. RIIMPL has been established as a collaborati
State-owned NHAI on Tuesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Reliance Jio to introduce a telecom-based safety alert system across the National Highway network. In a statement, NHAI said that using Jio's existing 4G and 5G network, travellers will receive warnings on their mobile phones as they approach identified risk locations such as accident-prone stretches, stray-cattle zones, fog-affected areas and emergency diversions. The initiative aims to strengthen road safety by providing timely information to National Highway users, enabling them to adjust speed and driving behaviour well in advance, it added. According to the statement, alerts will be sent through SMS, WhatsApp and high-priority calls to National Highway users. The system will be integrated in a phased manner with NHAI's digital platforms, including 'Rajmargyatra' mobile application and emergency helpline number 1033, it said. The automated system will work for all Jio mobile users on or near the
The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a suo motu case in connection with an accident in Rajasthan's Phalodi area that claimed 15 lives. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi issued notice to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the ministry, seeking their replies in two weeks on the cause of the accident. It also asked them to conduct a survey of the area and file a report on the number of dhabas on the highway passing through Phalodi. The bench also sought a specific report on the condition of the highway and the norms followed by the road contractor for road maintenance in Phalodi. The top court recently took suo motu cognisance of the November 2 road accident in Phalodi, in which 10 women and four children died when a tempo traveller rammed into a stationary trailer truck. The incident occurred near Matoda village on the Bharat Mala Highway when