A stretch of the Grand Trunk Road (NH-2)

Patna, Dec. 12: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working out a plan to streamline highway administration across the country. A dedicated security force is being contemplated to carry out the instructions and regulations of the authority.

“The ministry of road transport and highways is weighing two options. One is to take personnel from paramilitary forces on deputation and set up the dedicated force. The second option is to go for fresh recruitments. If the first option works out, the force will be in place within six months, while if fresh recruitments are made, it would take at least a year to shape up the force,” a senior NHAI official, preferring anonymity, told The Telegraph.

Once the dedicated police force is put at the disposal of NHAI, a special training programme would be organised for its personnel. The force would be briefed about the NH traffic rules, those related to construction activities along the existing highways, and about the safety measures to be followed while using the NHs.

Giving reasons for thinking in terms of having a dedicated police force for national highways, the official said the highway administration was a must to regulate traffic flow as the quality of roads had improved remarkably and it was necessary to discipline those using it.

“According to the highway traffic rules, those using four-lane and six-lane roads cannot cross the speed limit of 100km/hr, but at present, there is hardly any system in place to punish the offenders. Similarly, there are rules for lane- changing and other traffic-related precautions which too are not being adhered to,” added the official.

There are rules for construction activities along the national highways. According to these rules, 30m of land on both sides from the median of an NH belongs to the road. Beyond this limit, nothing can be constructed in a 10-m width on both sides. After that limit, temporary shades can be put up but no permanent construction can be carried out in 15-m width on both sides of the road.

Similarly, there is a rule that says that anyone constructing a building after this limit would have to make a service lane and to connect it with the NH, the owner will have to take permission from the competent authority.

“None of these rules is being followed at present as field officials have no force at their disposal,” said the NHAI official.

He said that the idea of giving priority to highway administration was mooted in 2005 and that year only, the NHAI project directors were given quasi-judicial powers of taking action against rule violators but this role could not be operationalised as the project directors had no force at their disposal to book the defaulters.

Normally, a stretch of around 1,000km of national highway falls under the jurisdiction of one project director.