BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The recently proposed ₹20 trillion, 20-year project/plan (Vision 2047 plan) might replace the second stage of the Bharatmala highway development programme.

Key Features

• Vision 2047 plan which is in final stages of preparation with identification of new road alignments and completion of detailed project reports (DPR) for greenfield projects.
• The new Vision plan would also incorporate elements of Bharatmala 2 programme that also focuses on building a network of expressways across the country.

Bharatmala Project

• About: Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector envisaged by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that focuses on optimizing the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country. 
• Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana, the implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been approved at an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,35,000 crore.
• The Bharatmala project envisions improving the efficiency of the National Corridor including the Golden-Quadrilateral and North, South –East West corridors by decongesting the choke points through the construction of elevated corridors, bypasses, ring roads, lane expansion, and logistics parks at identified points. 
• The project plan includes the construction of Border Roads of strategic importance along international boundaries and International Connectivity roads to promote trade with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
• The program has identified around 26,200 km of Economic Corridors or routes that have heavy freight traffic.
• Emphasis on the use of scientific and technological planning for Project Preparation and Asset Monitoring.
• Satellite mapping of corridors to identify up-gradation requirements.