NHAI removes 361 encroachments from national highways after Supreme Court order

The nationwide drive ensured a ‘smooth and effective enforcement’ of removing illegal access points, encroachments, unauthorised structures and median cuts along highways, the NHAI said in a statement.

Published - July 29, 2026 11:45 pm IST — NEW DELHI The Hindu Bureau

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has surveyed 693 km of national highways for encroachments and removed 361 illegal access points and obstacles as part of a nationwide enforcement drive launched following a Supreme Court order last year.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), the NHAI said it has also served 1,403 notices against:

• Unauthorised structures
• Illegal commercial access points
• Unapproved median cuts

These were described as major road safety hazards on high-speed highway corridors.

In addition to removing 361 illegal access points and encroachments, the authority has permanently closed 150 unauthorised median gaps — including those used for passage — that can lead to road mishaps.

“The drive has been carried out in close coordination with the respective District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police, ensuring smooth and effective enforcement,” the NHAI said in the statement.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court issued sweeping countrywide directions to improve road safety, ordering an immediate ban on the construction or operation of new dhabas and commercial establishments within the right of way of national highways. The court also directed that existing unauthorised structures be removed within 60 days and prohibited the parking of heavy and commercial vehicles along highways, warning that they must not be allowed to become “corridors of peril.”