Shimla: Union cabinet committee on infrastructure at its meet today approved implementation four laning of the Kiratpur – Ner Chowk section of the national highway 21 that connects up Kullu-Manali on a build operate transfer (BOT) toll mode of delivery.
The total project cost is estimated to cost Rs 2356.20 crore of which Rs 537.37 crore would be spent on land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction, a Press Bureau of India communique stated.
Total road length of the four lane project is 84.380 kms covering the district of Rupnagar in Punjab and the district of Bilaspur and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
The main objective of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh and also to reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Kiratpur and Ner Chowk.
National Highway No 21 is an important link connecting national capital and tourist destination of Manali. The highway is also a major link to Leh in Ladakh.
The Kiratpur – Ner Chowk sub project under National Highway Development Project (NHDP) Phase III considered for four laning the 84.380 km long stretch on NH 21 in Himachal Pradesh under BOT (toll) mode is one of the approved stretches in place of some of the deleted projects of NHDP Phase III.
Cabinet committee on economic affairs in March 2005 approved 4000 Kms of four or six laning of national highways under NHDP (BOT basis) and subsequently approved additional stretches in October, 2006 and April 2007 of which four laning of Kiratpur- Ner Chowk section was one part.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
i see no reason 4 this expansion….y aren’t the road projects opposed as the power projects are….???????are’nt we destroying a fragile environment by building more wider roads just 4 the money generation
… I guess this is called hypocrisy…..oppose one support other…one…..good going guys….and u guys calling this a major milestone…..get the environment report….to see the damage….
Well, i see this is a great move. We need to go ahead with these kind of projects in India. Infrastructure need to be developed to match with rest of the world.
But on the same time Government agencies need to assure that the quality of construction is flawless. There should be more regularity Authorities which will ensure that the Tax payers money is not looted.
Trends need to be changed, we need to look forward.
Quality is the key, well not quantity..
Satya
There are reaosns for this expression my friend.. not one but many… But u r also right…this development should be sustainable… lemme tell u one simple eg..u know why most of gud companies dont prefer colleges of Himachal ..? because of good connectivity wid metros…and NH 21 being one f d important highway chandigarh manali… if we have better connectivity , there will be better opportunities for youth also… but that should not be at the cost of nature.. so if x trees are cut for construction then i say atleast 2x trees must be planted in order to have the balance….. but such things are also needed man…
this is just an example… there are lot of things … which will need hell of time…
@ kshitij thakur…. i thnk u havnt been thru dat road…d stretch between kiratpur nd bilaspur hs become one of d killer strectches on NH21….so its d best thng if 4 laning is implemnted readily…i guess envirnmnt is less precious den lives…nd secondly watever damage happens to the envirnmnt dat is compensated by afforestation in d adjoining areas(dis is a requird thng fr approval of ny project by envirnmnt ministry)..bt god bless our state’s corrupt forst officials.. 🙂
Kshitij Thakur Our job at Hill Post is to bring forth news-as-it-is and we make sure every aspect is presented before our readers. There is no reason for us to object/support anything because our task is just about putting facts and opinions in front of you all. Then, it is up to readers to use their own head. The trade-off between environment and revenue-sources is not something new. Himachal is primarily dependent on unclean industries (in baddi n una) as well as hydro power mainly because tourism industry contributes an abysmal 8 percent to the total state GDP. Ensuring all weather connectivity to tourist destinations is the surest way to boost tourism industry in the state. Changes in the economy of Bilaspur, Mandi, Sunder Nagar and Kullu will be clear as soon as the project nears its completion. The state will no longer need to setup cement plants, hydro power plants and other industries in the state if the true potential of tourism industry is realized. Right now, that’s just theory. We will have to wait until the practical consequences start appearing.
This is a Very Good News… It will take tourism in Himachal to a New Height. And the pressure of trucks due to cement factories will be a little low after completing this four lane. Right now travelling on this NH21 from bilaspur to kiratpur is a “Torture”. So “WELCOME” Four Lane..!! 🙂
Hill Post development and sustainability is a myth… As long as money is involved…so saying one form of development is good and other is bad is so false…
Since this link is till ner chowk, I fail to understand how manali would benefit. I mean the traffic congestion would not change much, only worsen and new bottlenecks will rise up. And roads don’t lure companies to colleges.
who told roads dont lure companies to college…. since ma father is at NIT i know how important is time for the recruiters … since it is connecting chandigarh to himachal… and my friend abhinav…. We are from the system so we know how important is better connectivity for companies to go and visit for campus… isnce campus placement is small issue we shud not discussit more whats more important is that we should focus on sustaninable development which is practically feasible on papers but difficult to implement in reality … but also nothing is impossible ……… so lets ponder upon that issue…
gud goin leaders at d central govt…:)
Abhinav Sidhartha Singh Chauhan Well, Manali is not the only tourist destination on Chd-Manali route. There are dozens others that have lost their charm simply due to the lack of facilities and exposure. Secondly, it’s ner chowk from where the agricultural produce of some of the most fertile valleys in Lower Himachal is exported to markets in Punjab. In the last 5 years, over a dozen professional colleges have come up in Sunder Nagar – Mandi stretch alone. Yes, it may seem a little odd as why companies wouldn’t hire folks from colleges from far-off places. But we are not talking about IIMs and IITs here. These are tier 2/3 colleges and companies that carry out mass recruitment. Road/air/rail connectivity does play an important role in such cases. And the proposd 4-lane is upto Manali. It’s just approved upto Ner Chowk yet. Thanks for dropping your views.
And to add more in your knowledge, Nerchowk – Manali Survey has been completed, and very soon you will see a stunning four lane upto manali as well. Himachal is on New Rise..! 🙂
If roads were so important, my college (which is in tier 2-3) would not have had problems in recruiting. And the perception the companies have about an institute plays a much bigger role in luring companies than connectivity regardless of their location. Further, We all may be feeling overjoyed with this 4 lane proposed highway on NH 21 and NH 22 but both are to be setup on a BOT model which would increase the financial burden on us commuters and as mentioned before at the cost of huge environmental and ecological damage.
@hill post your article does not talk about this investment helping colleges or any neglected tourist destination. If you could educate on such locations, I for one would visit them regardless of the road conditions. Further, a small correction : manali is not a district. 🙂
Abhinav Sidhartha Singh Chauhan Colleges n neglected tourist destinations came up in the discussion 🙂 As such, we will start promoting various tourist attractions in the state very soon. Thanks for your comments. Stay tuned.
This is good for people that want to exploit it for there own buisness interest but for Himachal it will be the final nail in the coffin. Yes excess is bad ,but is also caused by poor maintained roads and bad drivers. The reason people go there is mainly for vacational reasons and with this added I think the beauty of the state which has been declining since the mid ninties with bad planning will finally be laid to rest. I can not understand why a rail network has not been implemented for bringing supplies into Himachal instead of a permanent army of slow moving trucks snacking there way up the mountains. These trucks cause so much damage to the roads and cause 80% of trafic jams as they are slow moving ,belive it or not this proposed new road will not make them go any faster. How many people would prefer to have a stress free enjoyable train journey to a life threatening car journey ,which would also cut down on car emmisions in this area.
I am bit confused guys. Can someone clear that this 4 lane road will start from Bilaspur to Ner Chowk or Kirtapur to Ner Chowk? I could see the latest update that the land aquisition has started from Bilaspur city to Ner Chowk.
However, this will really help as driving on the stretch from Kirtapur to Bilaspur is like putting life in a death well where there is no surety that one will reach to his/her final destination alive.
KIRATPUR TO NER CHOWK AND MANDI TO KULLU
This Project is help in development in travel area of Himalaya and use the resources of very fast our country or our state and interested in tourism, our power project early developed, our crop early despached to other state as usual electricity.
This is a very good project .I will realy appriciate this project. This project save lot of time as well as money .
when will aprox time to complete this project?????????????
Itni palnatation honi chahiye ….person comes from outside Himachal will realise ..what a place
yo…..this is awesome…!!!!!
a 4 lane highway in himachal…
but please tell me when will the work start and when will it end and if the project has started then i would like to see the photos….
i am looking road project NH21 details for chandigarh-sundernagar- & Manali NH21 which company has awarded this project enyboby can tell me. and who is the project manager is there.
i am against the construction of four lane in shimla because it is causing a lot of destruction here many people are loosing their homes & source of livelihood. construction of houses are very difficult in these terrains and upon that the project is destroying many houses & private property [orchards]. IT IS MY HEREBY REQUEST TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO BUILD 4 LANE IN SUCH A WAY THAT LESS HOUSES COLLAPSE .
I am also against the construction which is utterly wastage of Tax payers money at the name of development. Is there any environmental NGO which can challenge govt’s decision for this road construction.
plz, I want the contact number of an officer which one is sitting at Bilaspur or Shimla for some enquiries and plz send ur website address to my email ID, its, [email protected] on urgent basis plz.
Thnx,
Pankaj
Is there a way to challenge Govt’s decision to build 4 lane highways in the fragile Himalayan state. No developed country would even try to do that. Cutting the hills by another 10 meters will invite the land sliding & de stabilize the hills for another 10 years or so. If govt is ready to spend 5000 crore for this work, why don’t they setup railway infrastructure in the state which will be environmental friendly, tourism friendly and 5 times cheaper ? Why do we need tourists with their personal vehicles in our state causing hell lot of pollution ? 1000 Crore can be used to setup 500 special buses which can carry tourists to the hill stations and avoiding the need to expansion of road. After seeing the destruction in Uttrakhand state, HP should re-consider this decision carefully. If someone cut the road by another 10 meters, all the houses that are on the upper side of road in the proximity will also be affected in the coming years. Its just wastage of tax payer’s (we) money.
Kab tak complete hoga bhai logo..any idea??
kb tk milenge bhai paise hume……………….
when kiratpur to Nerchowk four lane construction work will be start.
WHY NOT!!!!
1.)THE DISTANCE TOURIST PLACE IS BEING REDUCED SOURCE TO ECONOMY.
2.) EASE FOR TRANSPORTATION SUCH AS FROM ACC BARMANA TO NEARBY PLACES.
3.) SUCH LANES COMPENSATES TO TRAINS AS WELL.
4.) WILL LEAD TO DEVELOP NEW URBAN AREAS.
5.) LAND AQUISATION IS BEING HEAVILY COMPANSATED PEOPLE GET TIMES MORE MONEY SO NO PROBLEM WITH IT. RATES OF LAND WILL ALSO VARY WHICH IS REQUIRED.
6.CHINA BORDER SECURITY ISSUES ALSO IMPORTANT. WHAT IF THERE A WAR AND NO TANKS IN AREA TO PROTECT THEN TO COME DOWN TO CHANDIGARH.
7.) EASE FOR SOLDIERS HAVING DUTIES IN BORDER AREA TO RELIEF OF 40 KM OR MORE THAN 1.30 HOUR TRAVEL DUE TO TRAFIC AND CIRCULAR ROADS.