News Brief
Government To Revamp Detailed Project Reports Selection For Highway Projects To Improve Safety And Innovation
Highway (Droneman/Twitter) (Representative Image)
The central government is set to overhaul the process for selecting Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for national highway projects, moving away from the current lowest-cost-based system to a more comprehensive evaluation method, Hindustan Times reported.
“As an alternative, DPRs will be assessed on multiple parameters through a points-based system by a joint team of senior ministry officials and premier academic institutions,” said Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Ajay Tamta, during a meeting on road safety at IIT-Delhi.
Tamta stressed the importance of tailoring DPRs to local conditions, stating that on-site visits should be mandatory for those preparing the reports, rather than relying solely on technology.
Tamta said that in the days ahead, individuals with visionary ideas, including those from the startup ecosystem, will have new opportunities to contribute.
Highlighting the role of innovation in future planning, he called for Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to serve as hubs for interdisciplinary ideas, positioning innovation as a key pillar in MoRTH’s long-term strategy.
“If DPRs are chosen carefully, we will have fewer road accidents,” Tamta said, citing 2022 data that reported 1.68 lakh fatalities in road crashes in India.
He noted that despite India’s relatively low vehicle-per-capita ratio, the country accounted for 11.7 per cent of global road accident deaths.
Tamta’s remarks echo repeated concerns raised by senior minister Nitin Gadkari, who has identified poor road engineering as a significant factor behind high accident rates across India.
