The 35-km stretch from Ambala to Zirakpur has been completed at a cost of Rs. 298 crore within the scheduled time and it is hoped that this project would lead to overall development of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and boost the economy of this region. “This occasion marks another milestone in the infrastructure development of this part of Northern India, which has been continuously struggling hard to get rid of traffic congestion and jams on the central arterial roads" The Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Thiru T.R. Baalu said.
Thiru T.R. Baalu declared open and dedicated to the nation the four-lane highway from Ambala to Zirakpur (NH-21 and NH-22) at Dappar near Chandigarh in the presence of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Prakash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja apart from others. Terming the roads as the lifeline of the economy, the Minister said that there is an urgent need to increase investment in the road sector to ensure that Indian roads meet the requirements of the growing economy. He said that there is a global recession setting in which is causing slow growth of global economy but we have to find out solutions and take preventive measures so that India can meet this challenge. “Our dream of a developed India can only be realised with the development of world class road infrastructure” the Minister added.
Giving details of the ongoing prestigious National Highways Development Project (NHDP), Thiru Baalu said that the NHDP entails massive unprecedented investments to the tune of Rs.2,35,690 crore under various phases which are targeted to be completed by 2015. He said apart from the near completion of Golden Quadrilateral under which improvement of 5,701-km length has been completed out of the total length of 5,846 kms, works have been completed in 2,965-km length under the North-South and East-West Corridors and four-laning of 584 kms has been completed under NHDP Phase-III. Simultaneously, the works are going on at various stages in other phases of the NHDP, he said and added that the Government has also accorded approvals for construction of 1,000 kms of Expressways under NHDP Phase-VI and construction of Ring Roads, Flyovers and Bypasses in selected stretches under NHDP Phase-VII.
Referring to the road sector projects in the States of Haryana and Punjab, Thiru Baalu said that apart from the NHDP, under the various schemes, the Ministry has sanctioned 212 projects at a cost of Rs.739 crore for Punjab and 139 works at a cost of Rs.723 crore for Haryana. He informed that in Haryana, 345 kms of National Highways have been widened to four-lanes and 180 kms are being taken up for six-laning, whereas in Punjab, 253 kms of National Highways have been widened to four-lanes and 175 kms are being taken up for six-laning. Thiru Baalu also informed that for 481-km length of National Highways, project preparation studies are at different stages of progress in Punjab and Haryana. These projects, when completed, will give a big boost to the economy of these States, boosting the industrial and agricultural sectors and encouraging tourism, the Minister added. The Minister thanked the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana for their active cooperation in various projects undertaken by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
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