Centre okays Rs 37 crore for bridge on Swan river in Una’s Haroli

The Central Government has approved Rs 36.93 crore for the construction of a two-lane bridge over the Swan river at Jhalera-Ghaluwal in the Haroli Assembly constituency of Una district. The announcement was made in response to a question raised by BJP MP Indu Bala Goswami in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in a written reply to Indu’s questioned, said that the sanctioned project would be taken up on the National Highway-503A. The approval was granted in March 2025 under the Union Ministry’s National Highways plan. The bridge, a long-pending demand of Haroli residents and elected representatives, is expected to significantly enhance connectivity between remote areas of the constituency and the adjoining regions of Punjab.

The Swan river often becomes a bottleneck during the monsoon season, severely affecting mobility, trade, and emergency response in the region. Gadkari said that the Central Government was actively considering a proposal to expand the Jhalera-Ghaluwal corridor to a four-lane highway. The Union Ministry of Highways’ annual plan for 2025-26 included a provision for preparing a detailed project report for the upgrade of a 15.3-km stretch of that National Highway-503A from the Punjab border to Jhalera to four-lane.

However, the final decision on the upgrade of the highway stretch would depend on multiple factors, including the feasibility report, technical viability in the hilly terrain and alignment with the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti National Master Plan. The proposal would also be weighed against other competing projects based on priority.The road infrastructure in this border region had often lagged behind due to difficult topography and bureaucratic delays, sources familiar with the development said.