The Delhi government has asked the Centre to declare the eight point eight km Mandi Road in south Delhi a National Highway and to transfer its development to the National Highways Authority of India, saying the step would enable integrated planning and uniform engineering standards. The corridor connects Delhi with Faridabad and Gurugram and functions as an important route for inter?state commuter and commercial traffic. The submission presents the change as a measure to improve regional connectivity, ease congestion and support planned infrastructure development across the National Capital Region.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta wrote to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari last week requesting the designation and the transfer of jurisdiction to NHAI as part of wider efforts to upgrade transport infrastructure in the region. The communication said Mandi Road carries substantial commuter and commercial traffic between Delhi and neighbouring Haryana districts and that National Highway status would aid coordinated capacity enhancement and maintenance. Officials said the move would provide a clearer institutional framework for long term corridor management.

Bringing the route under NHAI supervision is expected to streamline planning, construction and long term maintenance by centralising decisions, standardising designs and enabling access to national funding and technical resources. The proposal envisages works such as widening where feasible, junction improvements to reduce bottlenecks and traffic management schemes to improve flow while reducing disruption to local users. Planners said a unified approach would help accelerate projects that are otherwise delayed by fragmented local arrangements.

If the Centre approves the request, the transfer would allow the corridor to be developed under NHAI planning and execution mechanisms, supporting smoother movement of people and goods between Delhi, Faridabad and Gurugram and accommodating growing traffic demand across the metropolitan area. The proposal is presented as part of broader efforts to strengthen regional transport infrastructure and align investments with long range urban planning. The report was credited to PTI, which noted that the submission was recently made to the Union ministry for consideration.