Govt to complete GIS mapping of entire highway network

New Delhi: The Centre plans to complete the GIS mapping of all national highways, including marking the jurisdictions of all state- owned developers, for better planning, execution and monitoring of the road network and timely completion of projects.

As part of the exercise, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has asked all project implementing units of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Border Roads Organization (BRO), National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and the ministry itself to complete marking their jurisdictions of the national highways dashboard before the end of May so that the complete GIS data of highways along with jurisdictional segregation is available for future reference and fast-tracking work.

The main objective of this standard operating procedure (SOP) is to streamline GIS-based data collection for all National Highways in India under the MoRTH. According to a MoRTH office memorandum, the SOP aims to clearly define the responsibility area for each National Highway, utilize a GIS-based mapping system through the media portal for defining networks and data visualisation, implement a verification process by the administrative team to ensure data accuracy and reliability and use the collected data for various communication purposes related to the highway system.

Besides, the SOP will also improve transparency by providing accurate and up-to-date information while enhancing communication flow by establishing a standardized data collection process.

Tasked to take up highway construction to 50 km per day, geographic information system (GIS) technology is also expected to come to the aid of road constructing agencies as it would provide proper information on alignments and any obstruction in the path of highways.

Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) in Gandhinagar has done the GIS mapping for large portions of NHs and this data has been updated and verified by field units of the different agencies for the ministry. With the marking of jurisdiction of agencies, the process of GIS mapping would be complete, allowing work in new highway alignments to be started at a faster pace.

Helps in planning and monitoring

A MoRTH official said that GIS mapping of the entire network of NHs is one of the most important requirements for planning, executing and monitoring of the NH network but as this work remains incomplete, the ministry is moving at a feverish pace to involve all agencies and update and verify mapping work already done by BISAG.

GIS provides agencies with the tools for building resilient infrastructure for the future and supporting strategic repairs and upgrades to existing networks, the official said.

GIS maps contain a detailed visual representation of any infrastructure facility including location, topography, facilities and structures, and images. As these maps can easily be assessed – even though mobile phones – and shared, it makes the process of road construction and finalization of highway networks easier.