Forest nod yet to be received, Mandi NH project delayed – The Tribune

127 Comments / Uncategorized / By abayuuti

A –
A +

A –
A +
Updated At: Aug 26, 2021 06:36 AM (IST)
The Pathankot-Mandi highway passes through high mountains.

Ravinder Sood
Palampur, August 25
The strategic Pathankot-Mandi road widening project linking Pathankot with Leh has been delayed because of the delay in the grant of forest and environment clearances. The project has been hanging fire since 2018

NHAI spokesperson
90% land for first phase acquired
Ninety per cent of the land for the first phase of the project has been acquired, which is a basic condition for the bidding process. However, as forestland is involved, construction cannot be done without an NOC from the state and Union governments.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had approved the construction of the first phase of the project between Pathankot (Kandwal) and 32 Miles in Kangra district in March this year and had released Rs 145 crore on account of compensation to be paid for the land acquired. Out of the amount released, Rs 71 crore had already been disbursed among the affected parties and the balance amount would also be distributed in the next one month, NHAI sources said.
However, as no headway has been made in getting the forest and environment clearances from state and union governments, the project is on hold. Global bids for the first phase of the project were opened by the NHAI on March 26 and construction work of the highway valuing Rs 1,002.11 crore was awarded to a Gurugram-based construction company.
“As much as 90 per cent land for the first phase of the project has already been acquired, which is one of the basic conditions for the completion of the bidding process. However, as forestland is also involved, construction cannot be taken up without an NOC from the state and Union governments,” said a spokesman for the NHAI.
The 219-km Pathankot-Mandi road project of the Union Government has strategic importance as it links Pathankot with Leh, Ladakh and other forward areas. Considering defence requirements, the Central Government wants to complete it early.
The spokesman said the NHAI was focused on ensuring minimum cutting of hills, avoiding environmental degradation causing inconvenience to people residing along the highway and avoiding dislocation of business establishments. Therefore, the width of the road had been reduced at several points. The distance between Pathankot and Mandi would be reduced from 219 km to 171 km when the four-lane road is completed
Union Road and Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone of the first 40-km stretch from Pathankot to 32 Miles in 2017.
Tribune Shorts
A –
A +
What do you think? (Share your feedback)
Most Read
Don’t Miss
Situation in Afghanistan critical, evacuating Indian personnel top priority, govt says at all-party meet
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefs the leaders on…
3 women among 9 new judges appointed to Supreme Court
The top court is currently functioning with 24 judges agains…
CBI registers 9 cases of post-poll violence in West Bengal
A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has entrusted …
Post Himachal landslides, Kinnaur tribals vow to defy hydel projects
Holding banners and placards of “Save Kinnaur: No Means, No”…
‘Disloyalty’ by Biden led to army collapse, says Afghan general
Gen Syed Sami Sadat surfaces in the columns of an American n…
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
View All
14-year-old boy rescued from bed box, four held in Amritsar

Tragedy struck Amritsar-based doctor turns to art therapy

Back on track: 10 trains chug out of Amritsar

Tarn Taran diary: Athlete’s career marred by police atrocities

Rs 50 cr in Amritsar MC kitty, yet road infra in a shambles

Women to strengthen farmers’ stir at Tikri

Tricity travel made easy, now live-track CTU buses en route

Chandigarh Administration to implement ban on single-use plastic strictly

Chrysanthemum Show, a 3-day event, in December

GMCH raises count of beds with ventilator support to 149

Chandigarh sees two cases of Covid-19

Vaccine inequity: 106 doses per 100 persons in richest nations

Centre increases sugarcane FRP to Rs 290/quintal, terms it ‘highest ever’

Decide Rakesh Asthana case in 2 weeks, SC tells HC

Delhi reports 39 new Covid-19 cases, zero fatality

Air pollution to hit monsoon, 15% drop in rain feared

No end to commuters’ woes in Jalandhar

At 88, this national badminton champion Narinder Syal shares his journey

18-year-old gang-raped, uncle-nephew duo held in Hoshiarpur

Evacuated by US military, Hoshiarpur village youth returns from Afghanistan

Covid-19: Jalandhar district sees just 1 +ve case, no death

Ludhiana: PUDA launches industrial park project near Mattewara forest amid opposition from environmentalists

Covid-19: One tests positive in Ludhiana district

Releasing fresh water reduced impurities in Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana, says minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu

Will not bow down to blackmailing: Ludhiana Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu

Mock drill held in Ludhiana, to check response time of cops

Court directs Patiala MC to consider legal notice of dairy farmers

Paneer found unfit for human consumption; Bhadson dairy continues sale

Punjabi University guest faculty protest over fresh hiring of staff

Jobless youth clash with police in Patiala

Work on laying of sewer pipes in Patiala under Vigilance Department scanner

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
Designed and Developed by: Grazitti Interactive

source