NHAI to seek more budgetary support in FY21

Amid mounting debt which touched `1.8 lakh crore last fiscal and increasing fund requirement to implement the Bharatmala pariyojana, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will seek more budgetary support next fiscal even as it is looking for newer avenues of fundraising such as Infrastructure Investment Funds (InvITs).

“NHAI is in a very sound situation and honouring all commitments. We will continue to implement highways. However, like any other authority or any other institution we will be happy and grateful to the government if we get more budgetary resources,” NHAI’s chairman NN Sinha said at an event organised by CII. “We will be requesting the government to release more resources form the budgetary support,” he said.

For 2019-20, NHAI has received a total of `36,691-crore budgetary support that includes cess and plough back of toll and highway monetisation proceeds. The amount is around 1.7% less than `37,320.63 crore accorded in 2018-19 (RE).