*No time-frame specified at present for start of work
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 27: Notwithstanding the off repeated statements of the Union as well as State Governments about immediate start of work on Katra-Amritsar Expressway, the feasibility of the project is yet to be formally explored by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways without which nothing can be said about giving practical shape to the much-hyped plan.
The announcement about connecting holy town of Katra with Amritsar and Delhi through Expressway Corridor was made by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in the middle of last year. Thereafter, repeated statements were issued by the State as well as Union Governments giving an impression that work on the project would formally begin within few months.
“But the facts are altogether different as even the feasibility of the expressway is yet to be explored by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways”, reliable sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “only in the recent past the Ministry has invited bids for engaging consultancy, which will explore the feasibility of the project”.
They further said: The process of engaging consultancy for this task would take not less than six months and if the project is found feasible then the engaged firm would start exercise for working out the alignment of the expressway covering Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, which is again a time consuming exercise.
“Thereafter, the funding options would be explored as construction of expressway involves whopping expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore approximately”, sources said, adding “the cost of the project may go beyond these figures as huge expenditure would be incurred on land acquisition only, the estimates about which cannot be made at present in the absence of decision on alignment”.
It would be only after exploring the funding option that the project executing agency would be selected and finally awarded the work. “Keeping all these aspects in mind nothing can be said about giving practical shape to the proposed project at the moment”, sources added.
Stating that land acquisition would be a major headache for the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said, “the inordinate delay in acquisition of land for Bathinda-Jammu gas pipeline is a perfect example in this regard”, adding “if small patch of land for laying of gas pipeline cannot be acquired in a time-bound manner how much time the land acquisition for multiple lanes expressway would be consumed remains a million dollar question”.
“Keeping in view all these aspects and procedural formalities required to be followed it is difficult to fix any time-frame for start of work on the expressway”, sources further said.
Even a senior officer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), who is privy to development relating to Katra-Amritsar Expressway, admits that project is still at discussion level and nothing can be specified about the initiation of work.
When asked about the difference between present four-lanned National Highway and expressway, the officer said, “in the expressway the exit or entry point is provided only after a distance of 40 to 50 kilometer and even beyond that in order to ensure unhindered and high speed movement of vehicles”, adding “there are identified exit or entry points in the expressway so as to reduce the travel time between destinations”.
About the construction cost, the officer said that one kilometer of expressway is generally constructed at a cost of Rs 40 crore and construction of expressway takes more time as compared to highways because of additional features.
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