After 10 years, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream project, the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), is just a few kilometers away from completion. Some sections, including the yet to be completed 15-km stretch of the 7,522 km project, under the National Highways Development Project-I, were entangled in a prolonged legal battle.
With the courts clearing the decks, a final shape to the GQ, comprising parts of East-West Corridors, port connectivity and other projects, is being given, following which the corridor will officially be called to have been completed.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the stretches where work is underway and is likely “to be completed soon” are Chennai-Ennore port connectivity (12.45 km), New Mangalore port connectivity (0.26 km) and Gundapalli-Pochamalli section (2.45 km).
A senior MoRTH official said that contracts for the last 2.45 km patch of the Gundapalli-Pochamalli stretch of the North-South Corridor was terminated earlier but now work is underway.
The original Golden Quadrilateral envisaged in December 2000 by the NDA Government was to be 5,846 km long and was supposed to connect the four metro cities at an estimated cost of Rs30,300 crore.
Though the GQ was nearly ready, some sections were left out, even as 1,676 km of new stretches, like parts of the East-West Corridor and North-South Corridor, were included by the successive UPA Government to make a total of 7,522 km of four and six-laned highways.
Even as the NHAI is buoyed over the prospect of the GQ’s completion soon, it has also got a shot in the arm with the Supreme Court on Tuesday clearing the roadblock for construction of 20 stalled projects of about 2,700 km.
Worth Rs 27,000 crore, the projects would be executed after the Environment Ministry’s clearance.
The Supreme Court has allowed modification in norms to delink environment clearance from forest clearance.
The NHAI had moved the Supreme Court on January 5 seeking delinking of both the clearances.
NHAI had been facing problems in awarding projects. Contracts for only 1,100 km of the targeted 9,500 km in 2012-13 could be awarded due to various reasons, including environment and forest clearances.
In another major development, with the award of 6.50 km Z-Morh tunnel (and 6.050 km approaches) on NH-1 in Jammu and Kashmir to Soma Enterprises ltd on Tuesday, ladakh will have an all-weather connectivity road.
Road Minister CP Joshi said that construction of Z-Morh tunnel will ensure accessibility to ladakh throughout the year. Besides enhancing the safety of the road users, the project will also help in comprehensive development in all fields in this area.
The implementation agency for the project is Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Besides this tunnel, proposal for another 13.95 km Zojila Tunnel (single tube bi-directional tunnel with parallel egress tunnel and 10.820 km approaches) is under progress. The construction of Zojila Tunnel in continuation of Z-Morh Tunnel is necessary in order to establish all-weather connectivity to Kargil and leh.
Both the NH-1 projects between Srinagar-leh would not only be important for servicing the strategic interests of India but also for the survival of the people of ladakh and their socio-economic development.