Fresh survey of Sansari-Killar-Tandi road widening project in Lahaul ordered

A fresh committee has been formed to conduct a resurvey of the strategic Sansari–Killar–Thirot–Tandi (SKTT) road improvement project in Lahaul and Spiti district, announced Assistant Commissioner and Administrator of the project, Kalyani Tiwana.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), 94 RCC Udaipur, has proposed a road development project, which includes widening and upgrading the existing road infrastructure. The proposed project will require acquisition of both government/forest land and private land, which has raised concerns among locals.

The administration organised public hearings on September 17, 19, 20, and 22 to engage with the affected stakeholders. During these hearings, several landowners requested a fresh survey of their respective landholdings (locally known as muhal), citing that they were unaware of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by the BRO for the road expansion.

Taking their concerns into consideration, the administration has constituted a survey committee under the chairmanship of the Tehsildar, Lahaul. This committee is scheduled to conduct a resurvey on October 3 and 4 in all affected areas. The members of this committee include, Tehsildar, Lahaul (Chairperson), Naib Tehsildar, Udaipur, Forest Range Officer, Jahalma/Udaipur (Lahaul Division), Executive Engineer, 94 RCC BRO, Udaipur and Panchayat Pradhans of all concerned villages in the affected area.

Assistant Commissioner Tiwana has urged all affected landowners to actively participate in the proposed survey to ensure accurate representation of their land concerns in the revised project plan.

This initiative aims to address the grievances of locals and ensure that the road development proceeds with cooperation from the communities involved.

The SKTT road connects Himachal from Manali side with neighbouring state Jammu and Kashmir via Lahaul and Spiti and Chamba districts.