Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has asked Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to declare Mandi Road in south Delhi a National Highway and place its development under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The request is important because the corridor is being treated as a transport link with inter-state importance, not only as a local city road.
The proposed upgrade concerns an approximately 8.8-km road that links the Mehrauli–Gurugram Road (NH-148A) near Chhatarpur metro station to the Gurugram–Faridabad Road at the Delhi–Haryana border. The corridor supports traffic movement between Delhi and the economic centres of Gurugram and Faridabad.
The Chief Minister’s Office said the shift to National Highway status would support integrated development planning, uniform engineering standards, and timely upgrades. The stated policy logic is improved connectivity and easier travel for daily commuters.
The note also said that the road’s strategic importance was already recognised at the 68th meeting of the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre on 27 September 2023. That meeting endorsed widening and comprehensive development of the corridor and urged that it be brought under NHAI jurisdiction.
For UPSC preparation, the issue matters because it connects urban transport planning, Centre–State coordination, and the administrative process by which a corridor can be treated as part of the National Highway network.
Why the subject matters for Prelims
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