Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said the NHAI has agreed in principle for four-laning of road from Shimla to Matour and Pathankot to Mandi.
While the road project from Shimla to Matour will cost Rs 10,000 crore, the one from Pathankot to Mandi will cost Rs 12,000 crores, he informed.
Chairing a review meeting with the National Highway Authority of India officials, he said the NHAI will present a concept paper suggesting remedies to minimize and prevent landslides occurring due to expansion of roads in the state and will spend an amount of Rs 300 crore on the same.
The chief minister said strengthening road connectivity in the state was the government's priority and the NHAI should speed up the work on four-lane road projects being executed in Himachal Pradesh.
He said the state government would provide full cooperation to the NHAI and has simplified various procedures of forest and other clearances and have fixed a timeline for the completion of projects.
He said better road connectivity will increase the footfall of tourists.
He said the state government has decided to develop Kangra as a tourism capital and four laning of these two projects will prove beneficial from the point of tourism.
The detailed project reports of the Pathankot-Mandi four-laning road project should be prepared soon, except for the portion of the road of around 19 kilometers adjoining Mandi town, he said.
Besides, the chief minister also instructed to prepare the DPR of Hamirpur bypass.
The chief minister said the process to provide compensation for the land acquired for these projects has been expedited and necessary instructions have been issued to the deputy commissioners concerned in this regard.
He also urged for cooperation for construction of ropeways, especially Himani Chamunda and Bijli Mahadev Ropeway.
Provision for charging stations at a reasonable distance for electric vehicles in these four-lane road projects should be ensured so that the state government's motto to completely launch electric vehicles in the state could be executed.
Where-ever possible, the NHAI should assure the feasibility for tunnelling to ease traffic congestion and save time of the commuters, he said.
-With PTI Input
