More than 1200 km of National Highway projects awarded
*Allocation for cold desert region rises over 30 times
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 31: The Union Government has made substantial investments in the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs) in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh over the last five years, with expenditure running into Rs 40,380 crore, reflecting the strategic, economic and connectivity importance of both the regions.
This information was provided by Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari in the Lok Sabha in response to a question regarding development and maintenance of National Highways across the country, particularly in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
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Jammu & Kashmir received Rs 2,932 crore in 2020-21, Rs 6,817 crore in 2021-22, Rs 7,370 crore in 2022-23, Rs 10,528 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 10,331 crore in 2024-25, with expenditure closely matching allocations each year. In Ladakh, NH funding rose sharply from a modest Rs 24 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 794 crore in 2024-25, highlighting accelerated infrastructure development after its formation as a separate Union Territory.
In terms of physical progress, the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory saw 976 km of National Highway projects awarded between 2020-21 and 2024-25. The highest awarding took place in 2021-22 (287 km) and 2023-24 (244 km), while 77 km of projects were awarded in 2024-25.
Ladakh recorded 230 km of NH projects awarded in 2020-21, mainly focused on improving all-weather connectivity in difficult terrain. No new project awards were recorded in subsequent years, indicating a shift from expansion to consolidation and execution of earlier sanctioned works.
The Union Minister clarified that development and maintenance of National Highways is a continuous process, with capacity augmentation, black-spot rectification and safety improvements undertaken based on traffic density, road condition and alignment with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
It is pertinent to mention here that the National Highway development in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is not only crucial for tourism and economic growth but also holds strategic and national security significance, especially in border and high-altitude areas.
However, despite heavy investments, road safety remains a major concern in both Union Territories. In Jammu & Kashmir, the number of NH accidents increased from 1,899 in 2021 to 2,378 in 2022, before marginally declining to 2,120 in 2024. Fatalities hovered between 259 and 294 during this period. In 2025, accidents dropped sharply to 181, but fatalities rose significantly, indicating higher severity of crashes.
In Ladakh, accidents rose from 119 in 2021 to 196 in 2022, followed by fluctuations in subsequent years. Fatalities increased from 27 in 2021 to 45 in 2024, pointing towards risks posed by harsh terrain, extreme weather and challenging driving conditions.
On this aspect, the Ministry informed the Lok Sabha that analysis of road accident data reveals that road accidents are multi-causal and are the result of an interplay of various factors, which can broadly be categorized into human error, road condition/environment and vehicular condition.
While the Government has installed Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) on nearly 19,000 km of National Highways nationwide, no specific ATMS corridor has yet been notified for Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh.
The Ministry stated that ATMS is now being rolled out region-wise on all four-lane and above NHs in a phased manner, instead of project-wise implementation, to ensure integrated traffic surveillance and faster incident response.
With funding at record levels and major stretches already under execution, experts believe that focused safety measures, early ATMS deployment and continuous maintenance will be key to translating infrastructure investment into safer and more efficient road connectivity in the two Union Territories.
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