Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh convened a high-level meeting here for appraisal of the current status of work on the landmark Chattergalla tunnel on the new Highway from Basohli-Bani via Chattergalla to Bhaderwah and Doda.
Among those who attended the meeting were Director General, Border Roads Organization (BRO) Lt. Gen. S.K. Shrivastava, Addl. DG Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) A.K. Srivastava and Addl. DG BRO A.S. Rathore.
Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed to the officers of BRO and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways that it had taken considerable and consistent effort to get approval for the construction of this tunnel and even though the completion of the project would take some years, it was his endeavor that all the requisite procedures for the construction of the tunnel and surveys etc should be completed, as far as possible, before the end of this year. He said, the Chattergalla tunnel had already been included in Priority-III of the BRO works and he was constantly in touch with both the Ministries to expedite the process and take it up on top priority.
Impressing upon the officers to expedite the process as fast as possible and keep him regularly updated about the same, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Chhattergalla tunnel is going to be a revolutionary game-changer, particularly for the districts of Kathua and Doda. This will not only generate revenue, but also help in job generation. Moreover, the availability of an all-weather road from Basholi via Bani to Bhaderwah and Doda will bring in the ease of business and shorten the travel time to just about 4 to 5 hours. In addition, he said, this will offer a unique opportunity for Bani to emerge as a tourist destination of national importance.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the demand for tunnel at Chattergalla had been pending for several years, but was somehow not taken up because of different priorities of the earlier governments. However, the Modi Government is determined to live up to its commitment of ensuring equitable development of the peripheral regions in order to bring them at par with the more developed areas.
Director General BRO Lt. Gen. S.K. Shrivastava informed the Minister that a pre-feasibility study for the construction of the proposed tunnel had been completed by the BRO, the results of which were positive. He said, there were some issues related to budget which might reach around Rs.3,500 crore and for which they are also soliciting support from the National Highway Authority India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport.
Addl. DG MoRTH A.K. Srivastava updated the Minister about the exercise done so far by the Ministry of Road Transport and NHAI. He said, for the new National Highway from Basholi-Bani via Chattergalla to Bhaderwah and Doda, the procedures have already been completed. This new Highway will replace the old NH-1B and will be known as National Highway 244 (NH-244) after the formal gazette notification.
MoRTH officials also informed Dr Jitendra Singh that the construction of Highway will continue in a sequential manner and once the point of Chattergalla is reached, the construction of the over 6 km long tunnel will also be undertaken.
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