The Centre on Wednesday approved road infrastructure projects in poll-bound Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Cabinet approved four-laning of a road stretch worth Rs2,776-crore in HP and the transfer of land for six-laning of Ahmedabad-Vadodara in Gujarat.
The Cabinet Committee Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its "approval for development of four-laning from 'end of Pandoh Bypass to Takoli' section of National Highway (NH)-21 in Himachal Pradesh". The project will help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in HP and in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying from 'end of Pandoh Bypass to Takoli' section, it said.
"The cost is estimated to be Rs2,775.93 crore, including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 19 km. This work will be done under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase IV B on Hybrid Annuity Mode," said a road ministry statement.
The development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition of this region in the state. It would also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities. It has been estimated that a total number of 4,076 mandays are required for construction of one kilometre of highway. As such, employment potential of approximately 77,000 mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch.
The Cabinet also approved the proposal for transfer of 4.64 hectares (46,384 sq meters) of land belonging to ) Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) Research Centre at Vasad in to NHAI on payment of compensation amounting to Rs12.67 crore.
The land will be used for extension and six-laning of Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway on NH-8. The transfer of land to the NHAI is "likely to benefit the region leading to enhanced opportunities for growth and development in terms of infrastructure, transport, communication and employment generation," the statement said further. The decision is also part of the government's plans to boost infrastructure in key sectors for accelerating the pace of growth.