No DPR in absence of consultant, work on Palampur-Padhar road stretch delayed

The construction of a 60-km stretch of the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway between Palampur and Padhar (Mandi) has been hanging fire for the past four years as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not appointed a consultant for the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR).

The Pathankot-Mandi four-lane highway project links Pathankot to Leh and Ladakh and is one of the strategic infrastructure projects of the country. However, bids called by the NHAI in the past were rejected, as there was only one participant. Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that only when a consultant is appointed, the preparation of the DPR will be taken up. A consultant, when appointed, may take one year to complete the work.

In the absence of a DPR, the NHAI is also unable to acquire land for the project. However, the construction of four lanes in the remaining phases of the highway is going on between Pathankot and Palampur and is likely to be completed in the next one year. The phase-V of the highway project between Padhar and Bijni in Mandi district is also under construction. But there is no progress in the construction of a road between Palampur and Padhar, a 60-km stretch linking Kangra and Mandi districts.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had met Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari many a time and requested him to appoint a consultant so that a DPR could be prepared at the earliest, but in vain.

A senior NHAI officer says that earlier, there was a proposal for the construction of a two-lane highway between Palampur and Mandi. The NHAI accordingly appointed a consultant, who prepared a project report in 2021 for a two-lane highway. The NHAI also started the land acquisition process.

However, government changed in Himachal in December 2022 and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu became Chief Minister. He opposed the construction of two-lane highways in the state. He met with Gadkari and requested him for the construction of four-lane highway projects in the state keeping in view of high volume traffic during the tourist season. The NHAI rejected the previous DPR and started the process for a new report for a four-lane highway.

At present, the NHAI has put this highway stretch on the list of non-priority projects. Since Himachal has a Congress government, therefore, the work on many highway projects have been moving at a snail’s pace being not on the priority list of the Central Government. NHAI sources admit that even if a consultant is appointed in the next two months, he will take one year for the preparation of a DPR while one year will be required for the acquisition of land and then three years for construction. The project will likely complete in 2030.