Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh reviewed the progress of various ongoing National Highway (NH) projects in the state focusing on resolving issues related to land compensation, clearances of FRA (Forest Rights Act) and FCA (Forest Conservation Act) and other bottlenecks of the projects here today.
As per the record, to date Rs. 804 crores have been disbursed as land compensation in various NH projects within a month.
The Chief Minister asked officers to expedite the disbursement process of the remaining compensation cases of Rs. 750 crores by 27 March 2023.
CM Sukhvinder Singh also directed the officers to expedite the FRA-FCA clearance cases, by monitoring the cases every 15 days. He said that a follow-up review meeting would be held on 27 March 2023 to access the progress made in these matters.
He also reviewed the progress of the Shimla-Matour Road, Pathankot-Mandi Road, Shimla bypass and Pinjor-Baddi-Nalagarh road and gave necessary directions to accelerate these projects.
The Chief Minister said that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Bihru-Lathiani road worth Rs. 900 crores were submitted to the Union Government on 20 February 2023 and the project is expected to be approved by 31 March 2023.
In addition to this, the DPR for the Sainj-Luhri-Jalori road is expected to be completed by 31 March 2023. A consultant has also been appointed for the construction of the Jalori tunnel, whereas the process of construction for the road from Nalagarh-Swarghat, Una bypass and Punjab border to Nadaun has also been initiated. These projects are set to benefit the local population and promote economic growth in the area, he added.
