Punjab, NHAI to start work on Delhi-Amritsar-Katra section

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu on Monday agreed to expeditiously start work on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway project.

Acquisition of land for the Rs 30,000 crore, of which Rs 10,000 crore will be spent by the NHAI on the 300 km stretch in Punjab, will commence soon, an official spokesperson said after a meeting between them here.

The NHAI Chairman informed the Chief Minister that decks for the project had been cleared since the shorter alignment proposed by the authority had now been finalized.

Amarinder Singh also sought early execution of the Shambu-Jalandhar section (old National Highway-1), Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai section of National Highway-95 and demanded termination of toll collection on National Highway-44 as work had not yet been completed.

Referring to four-laning of the Kharar-Banur-Tepla road on National Highway-205A, the Chief Minister said despite the road having been transferred to the NHAI in May 2017 the work on has not commenced. He urged the NHAI to get work on the project initiated without further delay.

Demanding a comprehensive review of the toll road in Zirakpur town by the NHAI, along with GMADA and local Municipal Council, the Chief Minister pointed said as a result of the road currently being a toll road, there were frequent and major traffic bottlenecks in Zirakpur town on the existing the National Highway 22 section.

As a result of the dense residential and commercial activity on both sides of the road, severe traffic jams were witnessed there, necessitating a relook at the toll arrangement, he added.IANS