New Delhi: The road ministry is ready to facilitate petrol pump licenses and change of land use, and construct service roads from national highways for investors who build wayside amenities under its Highway Nest and Highway Villages project.

The ministry plans to develop 1,000 wayside amenities on a stretch of around 50km along national highways where commuters can park their vehicles and take a break.

The amenities would include parking for cars, buses and trucks, restaurants and food courts, fuel stations and minor repair shops, rest rooms for passengers, dormitories for drivers and kiosks for sale of sundry items.

“The wayside facilities which have area more than 5 acres will develop under the brand name of Highway Village, while those with area smaller than 5 acres will be called Highway Nest," National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Deepak Kumar said.

He added that out of the planned 1,000 amenities, 800 will be developed under a Public-Private Partnership, while a business model will be prepared by NHAI for the remaining 200.

“The idea behind Highway Village and Highway Nests is to provide quality amenities and employment to local youth and especially farmers," said minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, who unveiled the logo for the project on Thursday. “All these amenities will have local haat/stalls where farmers can sell their local produce." Gadkari asked individuals owning land along national highways to come forward and participate in the project.

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