Overview
- The Urban Development Department issued the circular on Monday directing municipal bodies to remove or demolish new and existing unauthorised structures inside national-highway Rights of Way within 60 days.
- The order bans construction or operation of any new dhaba, eatery or commercial structure inside the highway ROW with immediate effect.
- No local body may grant or renew a licence, NOC or trade approval for sites in highway safety zones without prior clearance from the National Highways Authority of India or the PWD, and existing licences must be reviewed within 30 days.
- Every district through which a national highway passes must set up a District Highway Safety Task Force including district administration, police, NHAI or land-owning agency, PWD and local bodies, with collectors and police sharing responsibility and holding fortnightly reviews.
- The move implements the Supreme Court’s suo motu Phalodi Accident directions that followed a deadly November 2025 crash and applies IRC-aligned land-use limits of 40 metres for residential and 75 metres for commercial uses, while officials say authorised roadside businesses with proper permissions will not be automatically shut.