For the construction of the Rishikesh bypass, accorded in principle approval under the Char Dham project, the Government of India should bear the land acquisition cost. Nineteen additional schemes costing about Rs 454 crore should be granted approval under the Central Road Fund. Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said this while meeting the Union minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi.
Meeting the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways on Saturday, the chief minister requested that 17 state roads be declared national highways and that approval be granted for construction of the Haridwar ring road.
Rawat said that the Kumbh Mela will be held in Haridwar during 2021.
In order to tackle the expected traffic load, the construction of the ring road in Haridwar city is very important. The estimated length of the Haridwar ring road is 47 kilometres and its estimated cost is Rs 1,566 crore.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has presented the detailed project report for this to the Uttarakhand chief secretary and has completed the alignment work for the ring road.
Now the Government of India has to accord its approval for the construction of this ring road. The CM further said that in order to decrease traffic load in Haridwar, the construction of a 2.5 kilometre span four-lane bridge across the Ganga river at Jagjeetpur (Kankhal) is also necessary. Rawat further informed that the NHAI is undertaking the four-laning of Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar national highway.
It is vital that this four-laning work be completed before the start of the 2021 Kumbh Mela. In addition to the works approved under the Central Road Fund in 2018-19, approval to 19 other projects is also essential considering the geographical requirements of the state.
Proposals for these works amounting to about Rs 454 crore have been sent to the Centre. Rawat said that the Road Transport and Highways ministry has granted in-principle approval to a 17 kilometre bypass in Rishikesh under the Char Dham road project.
The cost of land acquisition for this bypass is about Rs 250 crore. Just like the Government of India is bearing the cost of land acquisition in the Char Dham road project, it should also bear the land acquisition cost for the 17 kilometre Rishikesh bypass, said Rawat.
Stating that various important projects of the Central Government are being undertaken in the State, Rawat requested Gadkari to grant approval to all proposals soon. The Union minister assured the chief minister that his ministry is eager to provide all possible help to Uttarakhand.