AAP leaders meet Gadkari over delayed Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur highway work

Adampur Aam Aadmi Party halqa in-charge Pawan Kumar Tinu and Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Singh Kang on Monday met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and sought his intervention for expediting the completion of the long-pending four-laning project of the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur section of National Highway-03.

In a representation submitted to Gadkari, the leaders highlighted the hardships being faced by commuters and residents due to the delay in widening the highway. They said the stretch had been awaiting completion since 2016, resulting in traffic congestion and safety concerns.

The leaders specifically sought early clearance of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and permission to invite tenders for the 17.8-km stretch. According to the representation, the earlier contract for the project was foreclosed on July 29, 2025, primarily due to land possession issues and legal proceedings related to land acquisition in Hoshiarpur.

The DPR for the re-tendering of the project, prepared by the NHAI engineer, has already been submitted to the Regional Office of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in Chandigarh through the Chief Engineer, Punjab. However, the proposal is currently pending at the regional office over technical and administrative observations.

Tinu and Kang urged Gadkari to issue directions to the MoRTH regional office and other officials to clear the pending observations on priority and facilitate the tendering process.

They also underlined the importance of the highway as a key link connecting Punjab with Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, besides serving as an important pilgrimage route to religious places including Mata Chintpurni, Jawala Ji, Baba Balak Nath and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib.

Tinu said that Gadkari assured them that the DPR would be cleared within the next 15 days. He said that the Rs 250 crore DPR includes four-laning work, construction of flyover in Adampur and bridges on Bist Doab Canal and a drain abutting the highway.