Akhnoor highway 4-laning likely to miss 2021 deadline

Sumit Hakhoo
Tribune News Service
Jammu, January 21

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The four-laning of the 30-km Jammu-Akhnoor highway, part of the ambitious Prime Minister Development Package announced in 2015 by Narendra Modi, is likely to miss the deadline of 2021 due to the non-availability of land and slow pace of work.

The Rs 917-crore project declared as National Highway-144A is nowhere close to completion. The work has been stalled due to red tape and delay by contractors. The construction is yet to start at many places.

The project is being executed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). An RTI revealed that the highway expansion, the work for which commenced in 2018, is still facing several bottlenecks.

During campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, PM Modi had remotely laid the foundation stone for the four-laning of the highway along with other developmental projects.

“The non-availability of land has stalled the work from the fourth Tawi bridge to Canal Head. The work will be allotted after getting a clarification regarding the construction of the road and the availability of land,” says a reply by (NHIDCL) to RTI filed by activist Rajeshwar Singh Jamwal.

There has been only 22 per cent progress on the work from Canal Head to Ganesh Vihar, the 6-km stretch started in August 2018. The deadline is February 2021.

Ironically, the work on 26-km Ganesh Vihar to Khati Chowk commenced in July 2019 and is progressing at a snail’s pace. Khati Chowk to Hanuman chowk, project is also stuck in the detailed project report phase.

“It’s shocking that the project construction directly monitored by the Central government is going on at snail’s pace and no penalty has been imposed on contractors for the slow work. Moreover, thousands of people are facing health issues,” said Rajeshwar Singh, RTI activist.

Apart from damages to environment due to the felling of 4,379 trees, the construction is emerging as a major health hazard for thousands of people living in the area.

“The air we are breathing is dust. Have a look at the houses and trees and you’ll be appalled by the condition. A majority of the people are fed up with the project as respiratory diseases are on the rise,” said Sameer Ranjan Sharma, who lives in Shakti Nagar.