Govt to Compensate Highway Builders for Soaring Diesel Costs

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NEW DELHI: In a bid to shield highway builders in view of a nearly 71% spike in bulk diesel price in the last three months, govt will compensate them for the excess expenditure they incur on projects. The increase in prices of bulk diesel and bitumen has impacted finances of highway firms since the West Asia conflict broke out in Feb, and has also slowed down construction. Earlier, road transport ministry rolled out the scheme for additional payment for increase in bitumen prices by updating it every month. Prices of bitumen used in highway projects have increased from Rs 49,000 per tonne on Feb 28 to Rs 80,000 a tonne on June 1. “The new policy will be out soon. Highway agencies will pay the differential amount between the base rate and prevailing price of bulk diesel,” said an official. Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel headed by Sanjay Jha of JDU chaired a meeting on the impact of the West Asia crisis on road construction on Monday. After the meeting, Jha told reporters that in road projects, particularly National Highways, it’s natural that there will be an impact, if 85% of the bitumen imported for such works comes from one specific area and that route gets blocked. He said despite disruptions caused by the conflict, govt has taken steps to prevent the situation from spiralling. Data presented by the ministry show that while NH construction fell to only 148 km in April, 75% less compared to April 2025, the pace increased to 592 km in May. This was 21% less than that of May last year. TOI has learnt that Jha and the committee members recommended to the ministry to create a reserve of bitumen, identify alternative routes and sources to get the key road construction material. The members also asked the ministry about the lessons learnt from this preparing roadmap to face such future shocks. Jha told reporters that the current crisis has catalysed a shift toward domestic self-reliance in infrastructure development.