Salient Features of Nagpur Road Plan
i)The responsibility of construction and malntenance or national highways was
assigned to the central government.
(ii) It was a 20-year plan intended for the period l943-63 aiming to provide for about
two lakh km of surfaced roads and remaining unsurtaced roads, so that when this
target is reached, the total road length of 5, 32, 700 km with a density of about 16
km of road length per 100 sq. km area would be available in the country by the year
1963.
(111) The formulae were based on star and gird pattern of road network. But the existing
irregular pattern of roads and obligatory points not fitting in the geometric pattern
were to be given due consideration.
(iv) The first category roads are meant to provide main grids bringing the farthest points
in developed and agricultural area within 8 km of metal led road. The size of the
gird of this category of road in agricultural area would be 16 km so that the
maximum distance from the centre is 8 km and the average distance of the villages
from metalled road would be less than 3.2 km. In non-agricultural area the size of
the gird is of 64 km sides, the farthest distance from the centre to the metalledd
roads being 32 km. The length of road of this category is governed by the area,
particularly the agricultural area and towns or villages with population greater than
2001.
(V) The second category roads are meant to provide internal road system linking small
villages with first category roads. The road length of second category is worked out
on the basis of villages of diferent population ranges, of population less than 5000.
(vi) An allowance for agricultural and industrial development during the next 20 years
was estimated as 15 percent and this allowance was to be provided while
calculating the road length for both the categories of roads.
(vii) The length of railway tracks in the area was also considered in deciding the length
of first category road. The length of railway track is directly subtracted from the
estimated road length of metalled roads.
The length of various categories of roads as per the target of Nagpur Road Plan of
1943-63 and the road lengths achieved by year 1961 are given in Table 2.4. Though the
achievement of total road length was nigner tnan the plan targets, the lengths of NH and
SH achieved were lesser than the plan targets.
