Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has warned that inadequate signage on Indian highways and expressways is contributing to road accidents, while calling for better project preparation, skilled engineers and greater accountability in urban road development.
Speaking at an event organised by the National Council of Applied Economic Research and Jana Urban Space Janaagraha, Gadkari said roads across the country must have clear and proper signage. He said he had prepared a world-standard signage policy, but it was not implemented by the National Highways Authority of India.
“Still Indian highways and expressways do not have perfect signage, which is also responsible for road accidents,” Gadkari said, according to PTI. He cited nearly five lakh road accidents annually in India, resulting in about 1.8 lakh deaths.
The minister said he was monitoring social media posts highlighting the poor condition of highway stretches. He added that his ministry had taken strict action against contractors responsible for the construction and maintenance of some of these stretches. The comments place road operations and maintenance alongside construction quality as areas requiring closer accountability.
Gadkari also raised concerns about encroachments on NHAI roads. Such encroachments can affect the usable road corridor and complicate the safe movement of vehicles, although the minister did not provide details of specific locations or enforcement actions.
The discussion extended beyond highways to the way cities plan and finance transport infrastructure. Gadkari stressed the need for integrated planning among road, metro and rail agencies so that scarce urban land and public resources are used more effectively. He also called for higher revenues for municipal corporations and long-term planning for public-private partnerships in infrastructure development.
He criticised urban planning practices, saying they had become a money-making exercise and alleging that corruption had led to prime properties being sold at low prices. The remarks were made in the context of his wider call for improved accountability in urban road development.
Gadkari’s comments underline the institutional spread of road safety responsibility. Signage standards, highway construction, maintenance contracts, encroachment control and coordination with urban transport agencies involve different administrative functions. The minister did not announce a new implementation deadline for the signage policy during the event.
He concluded by contrasting improvements in inter-city travel with the continuing challenge of improving everyday journeys within cities, saying that India had transformed travel between cities and that the next task was to improve daily mobility within them.
