NHAI to Demolish Illegal Highway Eateries, Curb Unauthorised Parking Following Supreme Court Orders

Kolkata (IANS): The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon evict illegal dhabas and eateries along National Highways to prevent truck drivers from parking outside.

This major initiative aims to curb unauthorised parking and encroachments, thereby enhancing safety and ensuring obstruction-free movement along the country’s highway network.

The move follows strict Supreme Court directives prohibiting truck parking along National Highway stretches—except at designated lay-by areas—to prevent fatal accidents.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways highlighted the risks in an official statement:

“Unauthorised parking of vehicles, roadside encroachments and unregulated activities along National Highways pose significant risks to road users and adversely impact traffic flow and safety. To address these challenges, NHAI has identified 595 critical locations of unauthorised parking (along with longitude and latitude details) across different states and is working in close coordination with state governments, district administrations and enforcement agencies for removal of unauthorised parking from National Highways.”

NHAI is also leading concerted efforts to remove encroachments from highway corridors under the provisions of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002.

To strengthen institutional coordination, NHAI is partnering with state governments to establish District Highway Safety Task Forces and nominate nodal officers. These teams will monitor compliance, facilitate inter-agency coordination, support timely enforcement, and continuously track safety issues across the network.

Additionally, the Authority has directed its field offices to immediately audit all Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) installations. Field officers must ensure that all components—including traffic monitoring cameras, video incident detection systems, variable speed detection systems, variable message signboards, and emergency call boxes—remain fully operational.

To ensure faster incident response, better enforcement, and safer travel for commuters nationwide, NHAI is prioritising the deployment of ambulances and recovery vehicles, enhancing highway patrolling, integrating ATMS alerts with enforcement agencies, and proactively maintaining safety infrastructure.