As the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway moves towards becoming a reality, can this become India’s showpiece?
Between Delhi and Mumbai, India’s two largest cities and economic centres, the old National Highway 8, now numbered NH48 as part of the Golden Quadrilateral, has been around for years and has been constantly getting upgrades. Yet, the proliferation of towns on the highway as well as industrial zones, from Gurugram and Manesar in the north to Silvassa and Vapi closer to Mumbai, has meant that the highway is now clogged with both commercial and private vehicular traffic. There is a need for a proper access-controlled expressway that can allow for fast movement between the two cities, bringing down transit times to a day or less, especially with newer generation heavy vehicles. This is vital as despite the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for trucks moving between the two cities, there are huge jams thanks to traffic and poorly managed toll booths.
In fact, alongside GST and the gradual introduction of the ‘FastTag’ automatic toll collection system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari are working wonders on India’s roads, the arteries of the nation. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway though is not just a road — it is just a small part of the massive industrial and commercial corridor being envisaged between the two cities. Parts of the Dedicated Freight Corridor of the Indian Railway have already opened that will link factories in north India to the deep water ports of Gujarat and Maharashtra. This new Expressway will serve like a fast-charging cable and will supercharge the economy. However, the Roadways Ministry and Expressway Operator must ensure a few things are done properly. The first is to see there is no rampant overloading of trucks, which damages India’s roads. In addition, a proper access controlled highway needs to be just that; there are far too many instances where access-control has not been respected with villagers treating the road like a local right-of-way. A high-speed Expressway is just that, and while safety norms have to be maintained, the movement of slower vehicles has to be restricted for overall safety. India’s roads are a mess and running with blood because of the non-chalance with which we all tend to drive. Policing has to improve in cities with the help of technology as is happening in Delhi right now on the Ring Road, where cameras will start a system of automated red-light jumping fines and eventually automated speeding fines. China has already done that on all its major expressways. Also, while work on this particular Expressway has moved forward, much work remains to be done to ensure India gets a proper network of similar ones across its length and breadth.
