MoRTH Enforces Portal-Based RoW and Access Permissions

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (“MoRTH”), vide Office Memorandum dated April 9, 2026 (the “OM”), has mandated the exclusive use of the revamped Rajmarg Pravesh Portal for processing applications relating to Access Permission and Right-of-Way (“RoW”) approvals under the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002. 

Access permissions and RoW approvals are required by entities seeking connectivity to National Highways or proposing installation of utilities such as pipelines, telecom infrastructure, transmission lines, optical fibre networks and service connections across highway corridors. While a portal-based system was already in place, the OM notes that in certain instances field offices continued to insist on submission of physical documents, which was not aligned with the intended digital framework.

To address this, MoRTH has operationalised the revamped Rajmarg Pravesh Portal as a fully digital and paperless platform enabling end-to-end processing of applications, including submission of site inspection reports and execution of licence agreements. All new applications are now required to be submitted and processed exclusively through this portal, and the earlier system of submission stands discontinued. Migration of applications submitted under the earlier version of the portal is to be notified separately.

The OM further mandates that inspection reports be submitted through the Rajmarg Pravesh mobile application by authorised officials, including Authority Engineers (AE), Independent Engineers (IE) and representatives of proposing authorities.

As part of the digitisation framework, licence agreements relating to Access Permission and RoW approvals are to be executed through legally valid digital modes, and submission of physically signed documents is no longer required. In addition, only e-bank guarantees will be accepted, and physical bank guarantees will not be entertained.

To facilitate efficient processing, jurisdictional mapping of National Highway stretches has been integrated with data available on the Road Asset Management System (RAMS) platform. Applications received by authorities lacking jurisdiction are required to be promptly transferred to the appropriate authority.

The OM also introduces a special provision for BharatNet project proposals, which are required to be processed within a period of seven days. Any delay beyond this timeline will result in deemed approval, with such instances being flagged to the concerned nodal officers.

MoRTH has further directed all concerned officers to access the portal using their existing Data Lake credentials. Regional Officers have been tasked with facilitating onboarding of proposing and competent authorities through prescribed formats to ensure smooth transition to the revamped system.

Overall, the OM establishes a streamlined, fully digital processing framework governing Access Permission and RoW approvals, with a focus on eliminating physical documentation and ensuring time-bound disposal of applications.