Another NHAI project in Punjab back on track

One after another, the stalled highway projects in the state have started getting back on track.

This was made possible after the state government activated the official machinery and pulled all stops to provide land acquired for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects, several of which had hit roadblock for want of land.

The 25.24-km southern Ludhiana bypass is the third NHAI project that has been revived after the Ludhiana-Ropar and the Ludhiana-Bathinda highways got parcels of remaining acquired land to resume the construction work recently.

This was conveyed by NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora, who met him in New Delhi on Monday.

Arora said since 92.06 per cent of the total land acquired for the southern Ludhiana bypass has been made available to the NHAI/contractor, the NHAI chairman has agreed to approve it afresh at a meeting slated for September 16.

It is learnt that Yadav informed Arora that since the contractor had left the previously allotted work, re-tendering will be done to award the project afresh. The project will be funded under the National Highways (Original) works.

In June, the NHAI had withdrawn the project after the contractor foreclosed the work for want of land. The physical possession of the land acquired for the project could not be obtained and even the approved compensation amount could not be disbursed even two years after the big-ticket project was approved on June 2, 2022.

This six-lane greenfield highway project was to be built at a cost of Rs 956.94 crore and had been hanging fire for over two years due to the non-availability of land following stiff resistance by landowners to part with their landholdings.

While the physical possession of almost 100 hectares of acquired land had earlier been taken and handed over to the NHAI, the acquisition of the remaining 80.58 hectares (44.77 per cent of the total land requirement) that remained incomplete before, has been almost completed.

This big-ticket infrastructure development project was planned to decongest the busy internal and external arteries in the industrial and financial capital of the state.

The NHAI had withdrawn the letter of approval (LOA) granted for the project, citing the delay in handing over the possession of the land as the main reason. It had mentioned that only Rs 198.42 crore of the total Rs 323.06 crore compensation amount declared for land acquisition was disbursed and the physical possession of just 19.74 km of the total 25.24 km stretch required for the project was obtained till June.

Following Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari chairing a review meeting and shooting off a strongly-worded letter to CM Bhagwant Mann, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma pushed the official machinery to expedite the disbursement and possession of land acquired for the NHAI projects while tactically engaging with the protesting farmers.