NHAI to start work on 2 of 4 main highway projects by March

Shariq.MajeedLudhiana: In what comes as good news for residents of Ludhiana and surrounding areas, work on at least two of the four main highway projects related to the district is expected to start in March. Early last year, officials of NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) said that they might have to shelve these important projects due to land-related issues. Two of the projects are related to the outer ring road of Ludhiana.The four projects include the 37.7 kilometre long Ludhiana-Rupnagar-Green Field Highway (Package One) from Ghumnewal to Bonkar near Cycle Valley. The second project is the 47.2 kilometre long Ludhiana-Rupnagar-Green Field Highway (around 28.7 kilometres of which goes to Roopnagar and the second part, 18.5 kilometres, goes to Doraha). The third project is the 25.24 kilometre long Southern Ludhiana Bypass (from near Doraha to Ballowal village near Raikot). The fourth is the around the 33 kilometre Ludhiana-Bhatinda-Green Field Highway (Package 2), which starts from Ballowal and goes towards Bhatinda.Elaborating on the latest status of the projects, an NHAI official, asking not to be named, said that the authority has 100% possession of the 37.7 kilometre Ludhiana-Rupnagar-Green Field Highway (Package One). He added that the contractor took up the matter related to compensation with senior NHAI officials, saying that he had been sitting idle since April, 2024, despite arranging workers and machinery. The official added that the matter is under consideration by NHAI, and hopefully, the contractor would start work by March.NHAI sources said that the second project is the 47.2 kilometre Ludhiana-Rupnagar-Green Field Highway (around 28.7 kilometres of which goes to Roopnagar and the second part, 18.5 kilometres, goes to Doraha, where it meets the Ludhiana-Delhi National Highway). For this project, NHAI went for arbitration against the rate decided by CALA (Competent Authority For Land Acquisition). Work is not expected to start soon. They added that the tender for the third project, the Southern Ludhiana Bypass, was floated three months ago, and a decision on the contractor is yet to be taken."Of the 25.2 kilometres of land required for the project, NHAI has possession of 21.6 kilometres. There are certain issues with 3.5 kilometres of land, where the road is set to pass through two villages of Rajgarh and Kaind. "In Kaind village, landowners are demanding Rs 1.25 crore per acre against Rs 72 lakh per acre being provided by NHAI. In Rajgarh village, some people have encroached on the govt land and constructed structures for which the authority has given them compensation. Here, the agencies concerned need to evacuate the encroachers," an NHAI official said. "We may need at least six months to start the Southern Bypass project. As far as the Ludhiana-Bathinda Package Two project is concerned, NHAI has possession of 29.4 kilometres of land, and only 3.6 kilometres is to be acquired. There are issues related to land in Halwara and Ramgarh Sivian, as in both villages, landowners are demanding a compensation of Rs 80 lakh per acre against Rs 73 lakhs and Rs 50 lakhs given by NHAI," the official said. Sources said that the contractor is expected to start work in March.Ludhiana deputy commissioner Jitendra Jorwal said that of the four highway projects, the district administration has given possession of the majority of lands for three projects to NHAI, including 100% possession of land for Ludhiana Rupnagar Package One. He added that work on these projects is expected to start this year.Meanwhile, residents said that projects for faster mobility are important for the city. Ranjodh Singh, a city-based industrialist, said that though they appreciate the importance of road projects, landowners should get adequate compensation as NHAI earns good money by charging tolls. He added that by giving land, landowners face double loss as they lose their livelihood and have to shift to some other area for work and living.Can be added as a box: Projects in the pipeline| Name of Project | Length in Kilometres | Possession in Kilometres | Ludhiana Roopnagar Highway (Pkg I) | 37.7 | 37.7 |Southern Ludhiana Bypass | 25.240 | 21.690 |Ludhiana Bathinda Highway (Pkg 2) | 33 | 29.443 | MSID:: 117202140 413 |