Among the government’s continuous attempts to improve infrastructural issues, the Setu Bharatam Project has been perfect by streamlining the structural loopholes and upgrading highways.
The main focus of the Setu Bharatam Project, the Rs 102 billion project, is to enhance road safety. 208 over and under bridges constructed under this helps in convenient people traveling. The project was launched on March 4, 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Setu Bharatam Project: Main Focus
The Setu Bharatam Project focuses on repairing and fixing old bridges instead of building new ones. This way, not only the total cost is cut and land acquisition prevented, implementation is quicker. Renovating old bridges is also a wise decision because constructing new bridges altogether can be a long and tedious procedure where you have to clear railways, block prominent rails and cause road traffic.
The Indian Bridge Management System has been conducting conditions surveys and making a list of all the bridges on Indian National highways by using Mobile Inspection Units. Owing to this, unnecessary expenditures are reduced and efficiency of highway utilisation is increased.
Setu Bharatam Project: States benefited
Refer to the table below to know about the 208 over bridges built across the country so far-
| State | Number of over bridges |
| Andhra Pradesh | 33 |
| Assam | 12 |
| Bihar | 20 |
| Chattisgarh | 5 |
| Gujarat | 8 |
| Haryana | 10 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 5 |
| Jharkhand | 11 |
| Karnataka | 17 |
| Kerala | 4 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 6 |
| Maharashtra | 12 |
| Odisha | 4 |
| Punjab | 10 |
| Rajasthan | 9 |
| Tamil Nadu | 9 |
| Telangana | 0 |
| Uttarakhand | 2 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 9 |
| West Bengal | 22 |
| Total | 208 |
Setu Bharatam Project: Benefits
- The project works towards improving the quality of bridges, which has deteriorated over the years. The aim of the Setu Bharatam Project is to rebuild worn out bridges and make them safe for traveling again. The roads are revamped by widening, replacing raw materials, and strengthening in a phased manner and around Rs. 30,000 crore has been used in this direction.
- The Setu Bharatam project ensures the safety of the travellers by working on damaged and faulty bridges. Close to 1500 existing bridges are reconstructed to make them safe again.
- Since the over bridges will provide excellent connectivity to all the parts of a city, it will save time.
- By March 2020, reports suggest that more than 50% of road accidents reduced because of the implementation of this scheme.
Also read: National waterways: Importance and complete list of National waterways in India
Setu Bharatam Project: Time taken
The Government of India launched this ambitious project in 2016 and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways successfully attained its target and completed the project by 2019.
What more can be done?
Although the Setu Bharatam Project has managed to ameliorate the condition and infrastructure of highways and overall transportation in India, the following can help the ministry achieve more:
- Bypassing the towns and cities present in the way of highways.
- Minimising the regional inequalities in the construction and prevalence of highways across India.
- Connecting the highways to all possible district and village roads.
- Having at least 4 lanes in all the highways.
- Reducing accident prone areas by avoiding blind curves and installing street lights.
Sethu Bharatam project Contact Information
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street
New Delhi – 110001
FAQs
How many states have benefited from the Setu Bharatam Project?
A total of 19 states have benefited from the construction of over 208 bridges.
How many bridges have been rebuilt in the Setu Bharatam Project?
Close to 1500 bridges have been rebuilt under this project.