The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a clarification on laying of underground OFC or telecom cables on national highways. This clarification was issued on 17th April, 2023 and comes into immediate effect.
The clarification states that utility services shall normally be permitted to cross national highways either through structure or conduits especially built for that purpose. The casing/ conduit pipe should extend from drain to drain in cuts and toe of slope and toe of slope in fills.
For crossing of NH by pipelines for petroleum products, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method may be used without casing or conduit pipe subject to safety precautions.
Additionally, the clarification also revises the methodology for licence fees/ lease rental determination for utility service lines other than localized infrastructure facilities.
