The Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Monday said that the Central Government is spending Rs 50,000 cr on various projects in Haryana to further improve road infrastructure in the State.
The Union Minister, while addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of Pinjore bypass project from National Highway-22 to 21A in Panchkula, near here, said that his Ministry would accept all demands of Haryana.
The Chief Minister Manohar lal was also present on the occasion.
Gadkari said that the length of the national highways in Haryana would be doubled as the Union Government has fast-tracked the decision-making process for all infrastructure projects.
On the request of the Chief Minister, Gadkari made several announcements. These included three new underpasses on NH-22 in Panchkula in Sector-12/12A/21, 12A/Industrial Area/Sector-20 and at the intersection of the road dividing Sector 20 and 21, an underpass in the village of Dhakal, in Jind district, and one-time improvement works on the bypass section of NH-10, 65, 71 and 73 at a cost of Rs 170 crore.
An elevated flyover would be built on NH-2 (Delhi-Agra) from Agra Chowk to Delhi Chowk in Palwal town, Sohna bypass on NH-71B, eastern bypass for Karnal subject to the condition that 50 per cent land cost will be shared by State, three underpasses on NH-10 at Bahadurgarh-Baldi road, Balour Mod and Rohtak Chowk, and two underpasses on NH-71 (Dujana and Silani chowk) on Panchkula-Yamunanagar highway, said the Union Minister.
He also declared the Khangsara-Kala Amb stretch as National Highway as well as four-laning of the road from Yamunanagar to Paonta Sahib.
He urged the State Government to help in land acquisition for the Delhi-Yamunanagar Expressway which would link Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. This will boost tourism and generate employment opportunities, he said.
He added that with a view to bringing down the pollution level, the Union Government will promote electric taxis in Haryana.
The Government is making efforts to further increase the pace of road construction to 40 km per day from the current 23 km per day by March, 2018. The average road construction was 23 km per day in March, 2017 against only two km per day during the Congress regime, said the Union Minister.
Gadkari further said 65 per cent work on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, which was being constructed at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore, had already been completed. It would be dedicated to the people by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15.
The expressway will help divert traffic coming from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir which currently passes through Delhi. Besides containing pollution, it would reduce vehicle pressure in Delhi by close to 50 per cent, said he.
Speaking on this occasion, the Chief Minister said that prior to October 2014, there were about 1,470-km-long National Highways in the State which had increased to 2,480 km in 2017.
After completion of the ongoing works on recent announcements, this figure would reach to 3,200 km. The Pinjore bypass file, which was stuck during the previous regime, had been got cleared by the present Government.
This work would be completed at a cost of Rs 140 crore in two years. The network of national highways is being spread swiftly in the State, he added.