By VK Lyngdoh
A High-Speed Road Corridor is a type of roadway designed to allow vehicles to travel at higher speeds with minimal disruption. These corridors are typically access-controlled, meaning entry and exit points are limited to reduce traffic interference. They often have multiple lanes, usually at least four, but can go up to six or more lanes depending on route and traffic needs. The primary goals of high-speed road corridors are to:
1. Enhance connectivity between major cities and regions.
2. Improve logistics efficiency by reducing travel time and congestion.
3. Boost economic growth by facilitating faster movement of goods and people
The Narendra Modi Government on August 2, 2024 approved eight important National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects of length 936 km at a total cost of Rs. 50,655 Crore to improve logistics efficiency, reduce congestion and enhance connectivity across the country. The projects include the six-lane Agra-Gwalior National High Speed Corridor, four-lane Kharagpur-Moregram National High Speed Corridor, six-lane Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor, four-lane Ayodhya Ring Road, the five-lane section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National Highspeed Corridor, six-lane Kanpur Ring Road, four-lane Northern Guwahati Bypass and Widening/Improvement of Existing Guwahati Bypass and eight-lane elevated Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune. In its statement, the government said, “Infrastructure development is the foundation for a country’s economic prosperity and is critical for improving the quality of life of its citizens. Every rupee spent on infrastructure development has a multiplier effect of about 2.5-3.0 times on the GDP.” The government’s statement also says that total capital investment in National Highways including private investment has increased by 6 times from Rs. 50,000 crores in 2013-14 to about Rs. 3.1 Lakh crore in 2023-24. “Further, the Government has adopted a corridor-based highway infrastructure development approach with focus on ensuring consistent standards, user convenience and logistics efficiency, as compared to the earlier project-based development approach, focused on addressing stretches of local congestion,” the government note said. In this connection the Surface Transport Ministry has identified 20 proposed corridors that will be approved by December 2024. These include the 783 km long Kharagpur-Cuttack-Visakhapatnam corridor; the 281 km Guwahati-Shillong-Silchar corridor passing through Assam and Meghalaya; the 68 km long Bhavnagar-Bharuch corridor in Gujarat; and the 335 km Mangaluru-Bengaluru corridor in Karnataka, among others.
Will the High-Speed Corridor along the Guwahati- Shillong- Silchar route miss the opportunity given the fact that the proposed corridor of 281 Km identified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be approved by December 2024 and given the fact that Diengpasoh village, located along the 27.5 km to 30 km stretch of the proposed road, has expressed its unwillingness to part with its land? Also the three villages in West Jaintia Hills — Mookyndor, Lad Mukhla, and Mukhla Mission declined to provide land for the corridor. This project is seen as a solution to the current travel difficulties often faced by passengers heading towards Silchar and other Northeastern states, where road conditions and frequent landslides on the Ratacherra stretch during the monsoon season create major disruptions. NHIDCL has informed that the lack of proper land records in Meghalaya is complicating the situation, as land ownership matters must be resolved between the State Government and local landowners. This is a fact as there is no cadastral survey in Meghalaya, in spite of the fact that late Brington Buhai Lyngdoh had called for Cadastral Survey in the 70s but which was opposed vehemently. Instead the issue was politicised and rumours spread that the government of Meghalaya will collect land revenue once the cadastral survey is done which is a blatant lie.
According to the news report in The Shillong Times dated September 8, 2024 it seems that, “The NHIDCL is in constant contact with the district commissioners, who are working to convince people to part with their land for the project.” “Time” does not wait for anyone and the moot question is whether the Revenue Department of Meghalaya can sort out the problem of land acquisition in three months’ time or risk missing the project.