TN Governor orders establishment of State Highways Authority

CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi has issued orders to establish Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority, which will function on the lines of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), enabling the State with statutory authority to develop and maintain highways.

The order is based on the Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority Act 2024, which came into effect in March this year. The Authority will have a chairperson, three full-time and three part-time members.

As per the Act, the Authority will construct, develop, maintain or manage highways across the state. Other responsibilities of the Authority are to prepare immediate and long-term plans for the maintenance and up-gradation of the highways, develop a scientific pavement management system for systematising the maintenance operations, and lay down the standards for the design and construction of the highways.

Moreover, the Authority will also develop models for bringing in private and institutional funding on a world scale. This would help develop methods of performance-based maintenance systems for highways.

The Authority will raise institutional resources to undertake the maintenance and upgrades of the highways. It will regulate and control the plying of vehicles on any highways apart from collecting toll, betterment charges, user charges or any other related charges.

Any decision pertaining to the functioning will be made in Authority meetings. Decisions will be finalised based on voting.