NHAI still short of land for 15 highway projects in state

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is still short of land for 103-km stretches to complete 15 highway projects covering 604 km in the state.

The work on three small parcels of its flagship Delhi-Amritsar-Katra (DAK) expressway is also stalled due to stiff resistance by farmers even after handing over the entire land for the same.

The autonomous agency under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sought administrative and police assistance from the state government to get the parcels of remaining land for 15 projects and execute work on the three stretches of the DAK expressway.

However, the work to construct 22 highways spanning 740 km was in full swing after getting the requisite land. The NHAI has been implementing 37 projects with aggregate length of 1,344 km in Punjab, most of which had remained stalled for long due to want of land and farmers’ protest before getting back on track after Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari threatened to cancel/withdraw projects if the state government failed to provide requisite land acquired for the same.

Following Gadkari’s threat, CM Bhagwant Mann, then Chief Secretary Anurag Verma and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav swung into action and managed to provide over 94 per cent of the acquired land for the projects by engaging with the protesting farmers and offering them enhanced compensation for land.

In a recent communication, the NHAI has once again taken up the issue with Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and has sought directions to the administrative and police authorities concerned for extending necessary help to the agency in taking possession of the acquired land. for executing work on the stalled highways in the state.

“Possession of 102.73 km of the total 604 km length in the remaining 15 projects is to be handed over to the NHAI, for which administrative/police assistance is required,” the NHAI has written to the Chief Secretary.