Denotifying Highways will burden the states
With the SC’s March 31 order banning liquor sale within 500 metres of national and state highways, at least six states are scurrying to get stretches of national highways denotified
The reason
Once a NH stretch is denotified, states can bypass the SC order
States cannot convert an NH into a state highway – it can only be done at Centre’s discretion
How does denotification help states?
States can continue to earn revenue from liquor sale
Burden on exchequer
Once an NH is denotified, funds required for its repair and maintenance have to be borne by the state
Union Budget allocation
In the 2017-18 budget, the Union road transport ministry was allocated an overall amount of ~2,970 crore – including ~1,141 crore from gross budgetary support – for maintenance of national highways
Highways hit due to paucity of funds
In 2011, the MP government cited poor maintenance of NHs to demand that 10 such highways be denotified and handed back to the state government. The ministry later decided to hand over five NHs to the state.
What denotification means for the Centre?
The Union road transport ministry may save on fund allocated for maintenance of NHs
It jeopardises Centre’s highway expansion plan