2018 deadline for Char Dham road project

New Delhi, February 16

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The Rs 12,000 crore Char Dham highway project in Uttarakhand will be completed by the end of 2018 irrespective of which party comes to power in the state, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has assured.

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Gadkari also exuded confidence of winning the state elections. The Assembly elections were held in a single phase yesterday and the results will be announced on March 11.

“This (Char Dham project) is a promise made to the people of Uttarakhand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated the process. It will be completed before the end of 2018,” he said.

Asked whether the promise will be kept if the BJP fails to form the government in the state, he said, “Yes. This has nothing to do with politics.”

Just a week before the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct in view of the Assembly polls, Modi had laid the foundation stone for the all-weather highway project — Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna or the Char Dham highway development project — aimed at improving the connectivity among the pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

The move prompted the Congress to dub the project as a poll stunt, saying the BJP had played a similar gimmick before the Bihar Assembly elections. Gadkari rejected the Congress contention, saying it was not done in view of the state elections.

Gadkari said his ministry also planned to develop Auli, a skiing destination in Chamoli district in the state, as a world-class tourist place on the lines of Davos in Switzerland as the place witnesses temperature dipping to minus 6 degrees Celsius.

Noting that investment in tourism increases job opportunities, he said, “We are studying the Auli project. I promise you that 10,000 youths of the hill areas will get the jobs due to this initiative. It will change the face of the area.”

Asked about the investment requirement for the Auli project, he said, “There is no dearth of money for this project.”

Underlining that Uttarakhand has a huge potential of tourism, he said there were possibilities of other forms of tourism like adventure and water tourism in the hill state.

“With the construction of the all-weather road, tourists will come throughout the year. There will be requirement of restaurants and hotels. There could be water and adventure sports in the state,” he said.—PTI