NEW DELHI: As part of its ongoing efforts to make national highways safer and obstruction-free, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a fresh Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for identification, reporting, and removal of unauthorised occupations on national highways. The new guidelines also outline the recovery of costs incurred for removal of unauthorised occupation and strengthening measures for traffic regulation.According to the directive, all regional and project-level officers of MoRTH, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) must inspect highways at regular intervals; at least once every three months at the regional level and once a month at the divisional or project level. Contractors, concessionaires and supervision consultants have also been directed to remain vigilant against encroachments and report them promptly.The SoP also mandates drone surveys and aerial imaging mandatory. During highway road construction, such surveys must be carried out quarterly, while in the operation and maintenance stage, the frequency will vary depending on the location–monthly in large urban areas, quarterly in smaller towns, and once every six months in rural stretches. Reports will be uploaded to the Government’s “Datalake” portal—central repository–for record-keeping and follow-up action.The ministry has empowered highway administration officials and district magistrates (DMs) to act swiftly against encroachments. Field officers must first issue preliminary notices, with the assistance of local administrations and police if necessary. If encroachments persist, DMs will step in to enforce removal, impose fines, and recover costs.The penalties–as per the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002–include fines of up to Rs 500 per square metre of encroached land, or in cases where this is less than the land’s cost, an equivalent amount to the land value. Costs for removal and repair will also be recovered from violators.The SoP also mandates the creation of a dedicated Drone Analytics Management System for monthly monitoring of encroachments using satellite imagery and drone data. “A dedicated Drone Analytics Management System shall be built up in the designated portal for this purpose and all regional officers of Road Wing/ NHAI/ NHIDCL shall ensure monthly monitoring of the extent and removal of unauthorized occupation on the National Highways in their respective jurisdiction,” read the SoP.Unresolved cases will be escalated to state governments and, if necessary, to the Highway Administration for intervention.
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