SRINAGAR: Plans to construct two ambitious road tunnels—Singhpora-Vailoo and Sudhmahadev-Dranga—on the Anantnag-Chenani corridor in Jammu and Kashmir have run into trouble, with the Public Investment Board (PIB) recently rejecting the proposal. The board cited high project costs and insufficient justification as key reasons behind its decision, The Times of India reported.
The combined cost of the two projects was estimated at nearly Rs 8,900 crore, according to the newspaper The PIB noted that both locations already have functional road connectivity between the origin and destination points, and the proposed tunnels were not classified as strategic by the Ministry of Defence. This contradicted the claim made by officials of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), which is implementing the project under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Singhpora-Vailoo tunnel project has already seen setbacks, with its earlier bid process scrapped after the Home Ministry denied clearance to the lowest foreign bidder in 2023. That led to the cancellation of the tendering process.
At a meeting held on March 22, according to the Delhi-based newspaper, the PIB also flagged the absence of essential traffic data from NHIDCL and questioned the rationale for initiating such a high-cost project without strong evidence of direct benefit. The inter-ministerial panel further underlined that both tunnel routes already have good-quality alternative roads in place.
Given the recent directives from the Finance Ministry, the Road Transport Ministry cannot approve any new highway project under the Bharatmala scheme if the cost exceeds Rs 1,000 crore without prior Cabinet approval. This requires a favourable appraisal by the PIB and, in some cases, by the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee.
With the board’s rejection and no immediate path forward, the future of the two tunnel projects remains uncertain.
