3 min readAug 11, 2026 05:52 PM IST
First published on: Aug 11, 2026 at 01:53 PM IST
The Maharashtra government has given a 60-day ultimatum to state urban bodies to demolish and remove all new and existing unlicensed structures and ban construction of any dhaba, eatery, or commercial structures within the Right of Way (ROW) – the total strip of land acquired and reserved by the government – on all National Highways in the state.
The reason for the state government to ban unauthorised dhabas and hotels is the Supreme Court’s cognizance of the news reports in April that as many as 34 lives were lost in successive accidents in Rajasthan and Telangana.
Observing that the National Highways constitute “approximately 2% of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30% of all road fatalities”, the Supreme Court had directed the road departments of the Centre and States to ensure highways do not become a “corridor of peril due to administrative lethargy or administrative gaps” as it monitored compliance of its April road-safety directions.
On July 13, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed that only three states or Union Territories (UTs) — Bihar, Karnataka and Puducherry had filed compliance affidavits.
The bench said that if other states did not file their reports within two weeks, it would direct the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs) of all defaulting states and UTs to appear before the court.
Flagging “systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures”, the top court recognised such lapses as amounting to a “grave infringement on the right to safe passage” and “dereliction of statutory duty by authorities…and sought a report on administrative failures that have resulted in a threat to public safety. The SC will hear the matter next on August 17.
To comply with the Supreme Court orders, the Maharashtra government launched a crackdown against illegal dhabas, eateries and hotels within the Right of Way stretch.
Supreme Court’s directions to Centre, States
In its road-safety framework, the bench of Justices J K Maheshwari (now retired) and Atul S Chandurkar gave these instructions:
- Bar on heavy and commercial vehicles from stopping on National Highway carriageways or paved shoulders except at designated parking facilities
- Use of the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) – cameras, speed detectors, variable message boards and emergency call boxes, GPS-based photographic evidence and e-Challan to enforce the rule.
- Highway authorities to report inspections, encroachments and demolitions
- NHAI to activate citizen encroachment complaints and conduct drone-based surveys twice a year;
- Removal of new and existing unauthorised structures within the ROW within 60 days
- Ban on new dhabas, eateries and commercial establishments within the ROW.
- No licences, NOCs or trade permissions to be granted or renewed in highway safety zones without prior clearance by the NHAI or Public Works Department (PWD)
- Existing licences to be reviewed within 30 days.
- Formation of district highway safety task forces
- Round-the-clock patrolling, with vehicles fitted with tracking devices on the highways.
- Installation of BLS ambulances and recovery cranes at every 75 km on highway stretches for swift response to accidents.
The court also ordered identification and publication of blackspots and critical areas, with high-intensity lighting, speed cameras, retro-reflective warning signs and transverse markings.
In its road-safety framework, the Supreme Court bench also barred heavy and commercial vehicles from stopping on National Highway carriageways (Image generated using Gemini) 
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