From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: The ongoing work of the four-lane Shillong-Jorabat national highway and the Shillong Bypass was raised in Parliament on Tuesday with the Centre making it clear that the much needed four laning of the major road will be completed within this year while work for the Bypass is already over.
In reply to a question of former Union Minister for State and MP from Shillong, Vincent H Pala, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Dr CP Joshi, said that these two vital projects considered as the life line for landlocked Meghalaya were sanctioned long ago.
The 62-km four-lane of NH 40 (Umiam to Jorabat) has been taken up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as the implementing agency which is doing the work through Ms Ramky at a tender cost of Rs 536 crore.
The four-laning between Jorabat-Umiam Section of NH-40 has been accorded on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis in BOT (Annuity) mode of delivery under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme-North East (SARDP-NE Phase ‘A’). Approval of actual variation to the cost of land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement and other pre-construction activities were granted.
The concession period is 20 years including construction period of three years.
NH 40 is the main artery connecting Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and the states of Mizoram and Tripura with Guwahati, the gateway of North-East.
The improvement of this highway to four-lane standard would surely bring in prosperity and development of the region and remove the nagging problem of traffic congestion, Pala told reporters later.
Pala had taken up the matter with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and others since the past four years.
The Shillong Bypass is ‘physically completed’ ahead of schedule, the Union Minister said in his reply.
The Shillong Bypass, when opened, is expected to provide relief from traffic snarls as heavy vehicles heading towards Jowai and other states can be diverted through the Bypass without having to cross the city, Pala said.
The 47.06-km long Bypass, which begins at Umiam in Ri-Bhoi district and ends on National Highway-44 at Mawryngkneng in East Khasi Hills district, has been implemented by M/S GR -Chetak (JV) at a cost of Rs 226 crore.