'Highway to hell': ₹5.5 lakh crore worth projects stuck
"India's big plans for better highways are hitting some serious speed bumps—by mid-2025, nearly 580 projects (worth a massive ₹3.9 lakh crore) are stuck, and another 200 (worth ₹1.6 lakh crore) haven't even started after bidding.
The main culprits? Land acquisition hassles, contractor issues, and slow government clearances."
'Biggest culprits behind delays'
"Land acquisition is the biggest headache, holding up 28% of delayed projects. Contractor troubles cause another 19%, and forest clearances add 13% more delays. On the bright side, really long delays (over three years) have dropped from 152 to just 81 since last year."
Ministry's monthly meetings
"Most project delays now last less than six months, though over a third are stuck for one to three years.
The Ministry of Road Transport is trying to fix things with monthly meetings—but a new rule (requiring most land to be acquired before bidding) has paused another batch of projects worth ₹1.4 lakh crore.
Still, tighter checks seem to be helping cut down on those endless delays—so there's hope for smoother roads ahead."