Supreme Court Directs MORTH to Address Highway Encroachments

30 Aug 2024 CW Team

The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) to establish a dedicated portal and a toll-free number for addressing encroachment complaints on national highways. This move aims to streamline the process for the public to report issues related to illegal encroachments affecting highway infrastructure.

Portal Creation: The Court has instructed MORTH to develop an online platform where citizens can lodge complaints regarding encroachments. This portal will serve as a central hub for managing and addressing these grievances efficiently.

Toll-Free Number: In addition to the digital portal, MORTH is required to set up a toll-free number to facilitate easier access for the public to report encroachments. This measure is intended to ensure that complaints can be made without any financial burden.

Objective: The primary goal of this directive is to improve the management of national highways by addressing encroachments that hinder traffic flow and pose safety risks. It reflects a commitment to maintaining and enhancing infrastructure quality.

Public Engagement: The new system will enable greater public involvement in safeguarding highway infrastructure, providing a straightforward way for citizens to contribute to the maintenance and safety of national roads.

Legal Compliance: The Supreme Court?s directive underscores the importance of adhering to legal and regulatory standards in the management of public infrastructure. It aims to ensure that highway encroachments are addressed promptly and effectively.

The establishment of a portal and toll-free number marks a significant step towards more transparent and efficient handling of highway encroachment issues, enhancing the overall management and upkeep of national highway networks in India.

Real Estate

05 Dec 2025

RBI Rate Cut Boosts Confidence Across Housing Market

Industry Context and Market DynamicsThe real estate industry has welcomed the RBI’s rate cut as a timely boost to affordability and demand. With home prices having risen steadily across major markets, even a marginal reduction in interest rates meaningfully strengthens purchasing power, especially for first-time and mid-income buyers.Ashish Jerath, President – Sales & Marketing, Smartworld Developers, observes:“The RBI’s 25-basis-point cut, bringing the repo rate down to 5.25%, is a timely boost for the real estate sector. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, enabling homeb..

BMC Resumes Rs 170 Billion Road Works, Targets 80 per cent By Jan 2026

Following the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon in October, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has restarted work on 645 roads—covering 297.49 kilometres—under its large-scale concretisation programme. Data shows that more than 60 per cent of the resumed works are located in the western suburbs. Officials said the civic body aims to complete concretisation on 80 per cent of the roads where fresh work has begun by January 2026. Launched in 2022, the Rs 170 billion project seeks to concretise 700 kilometres of roads across Mumbai. All civil works were halted during the monsoon ..

India Pushes Digital Shift In Urban Land Mapping

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development has convened a National Symposium on NAKSHA – the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations – to advance India’s transition to modern, technology-driven land mapping. Speaking at the inaugural session, Secretary Manoj Joshi underscored the urgent need to move revenue departments away from outdated, tape-based methods and rough hand-drawn sketches. He stressed that adopting latitude–longitude-based digital mapping and GIS-linked registration systems is essential for economic stabi..