Structures being razed for Baddi-Nalagarh road widening

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, September 13

Structures are being dismantled for the widening of the 17.37 km Baddi-Nalagarh highway to four lanes.

A stretch of 36 km from Pinjore to Nalagarh is to be widened to four lanes, and 17.37 km of it lies in Himachal and the remaining portion of the highway lies in Haryana.

“Of Rs 48 crore meant for payment as compensation to the owners of the structures that are being demolished, Rs 20 crore has been disbursed. As many as 460 structures will be demolished for the road project. Besides, 900 trees on the private land will also be axed,” said Mahendra Pal, SDM, Nalagarh, who heads the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition.

Executive engineers of the Jal Shakti Vibhag and HP State Electricity Board Limited have been given directions to snap power and water connections of these 460 structures. Some residents, however, have begun demolishing their structures on their own a 30-day notice was

All eyes are now on the tender process, which is likely to be awarded soon by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This will finally pave way for the highway expansion to four lanes.

Suresh Sharma, Project Director, NHAI, said, “As many as 33 bids have been received for the 17.37 km road widening project from Baddi to Nalagarh and these are being examined. The tender will be awarded by the month end and the contractor will get 30 months to complete the task”.

He added that it would be an environment-friendly road where construction would be undertaken using fly ash. Five major bridges, 16 minor bridges and a flyover at Baddi would be constructed under the project.

A sum of Rs 124 crore has been disbursed among 2,200 persons whose land has been acquired for the project in the state.

“The highway has become prone to accidents due to the increase in the number of vehicles over the years. Investors have been keenly awaiting the construction of the project. It is heartening that a project for which we have toiled for years is finally going to see the light of the day,” said Sanjay Khurana, president of the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association.

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