SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 137 km of National High-Speed Corridor projects under construction, while no such corridor has been completed in the Union Territory so far, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Replying to Starred Question No. 63 in the Lok Sabha on July 23, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari said Jammu and Kashmir has a total awarded National High-Speed Corridor length of 137 km, all of which is currently under implementation.
According to the state-wise data tabled in Parliament, 10,389 km of National High-Speed Corridors have been awarded across the country. Of these, 4,809 km have been completed, while 5,580 km are under construction. In contrast, Jammu and Kashmir has no completed corridor projects under the programme, with the entire 137 km remaining under construction.
The reply came in response to a question raised by MPs Dr Hemant Vishnu Savara and Shri Dharambir Singh regarding the progress of National High-Speed Corridors and Greenfield Expressway projects.
The minister informed the House that the Government regularly reviews the progress of all ongoing National Highway works, including National High-Speed Corridors and Greenfield Expressways, at project, state and central levels. The review process involves state governments and other stakeholders and includes technological monitoring through the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) portal to identify and address project-level bottlenecks.
To accelerate execution, the Government has introduced several measures, including faster land acquisition through the Bhoomirashi portal and GIS-based land acquisition plans, streamlining environmental and forest clearances through the revamped Parivesh portal, enabling online approval of General Arrangement Drawings for Road Over Bridges and Road Under Bridges with the Railways, and strengthening coordination with state governments to resolve implementation hurdles.
The minister also informed Parliament that the Government has approved a 32-km four-lane access-controlled highway to connect the upcoming Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra with the Vadodara–Mumbai Expressway and NH-48 at an estimated cost of Rs 4,362.39 crore under the EPC mode. The project has already been awarded.
On projects awaiting award, Gadkari said a total of 1,022 km of National High-Speed Corridor and Expressway projects have been approved across the country but are yet to be awarded. The annexure to the reply does not include any such pending project in Jammu and Kashmir.
