By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
After removing encroachments in parts of Gujarat, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has indicated that it would remove remaining encroachments along the highways in the country to ensure safe travel.
NHAI has intensified its drive against unauthorised encroachments along National Highways, removing more than 361 illegal accesses and encroachments and permanently closing 150 unauthorised median gaps in Gujarat’s Rajkot region to improve road safety and traffic flow.
The action follows the Supreme Court’s directions for removal of illegal encroachments on public roads and highways. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI have been carrying out anti-encroachment drives across the country to restore the Right of Way (RoW) and ensure safer travel.
Under the latest initiative, NHAI’s Project Implementation Unit (PIU), Rajkot, surveyed nearly 693 km of National Highways and issued 1,403 notices against unauthorised structures, illegal commercial accesses and unapproved median cuts, which officials described as major safety hazards on high-speed corridors.
The enforcement drive was conducted in coordination with district administrations and police authorities. Recent operations cleared hundreds of illegal occupations along the Somnath-Dwarka Highway, including stretches at Bardiya and from Honest Hotel to Hathi Chowk.
Officials said encroachments along highways narrow carriageways, obstruct visibility, damage drainage systems and create unsafe entry and exit points, increasing the risk of road accidents. They also hamper highway maintenance, emergency response and future expansion projects.
According to NHAI, the anti-encroachment campaign is aimed not only at enforcing the law but also at improving road safety by restoring clear sight distances, easing traffic movement and providing adequate space for emergency operations.
The authority said protecting the designated Right of Way is essential for safeguarding public investment in highway infrastructure and ensuring smooth execution of future development works. It added that anti-encroachment drives will continue in accordance with legal provisions and Supreme Court directions to keep National Highways safe, efficient and free from illegal obstructions.