Jalandhar-Chintpurni travel to cost more with two toll plazas on cards

AFTER FOUR-LANING OF NH-3, ONE TOLL PLAZA TO COME UP IN JALANDHAR DISTRICT, OTHER IN HOSHIARPUR

JALANDHAR: The four-laning of Jalandhar-Chintpurni National Highway-3 is set to minimise traffic hazards for commuters, but once constructed the road is set to make the journey expensive as the authorities concerned are going to set up a toll plaza.

In the Jalandhar section of the project, a toll plaza has been planned at Choorwali village, 2km ahead of Adampur from the Jalandhar side and, as per information gathered by Hindustan Times, the land for the setting up of the plaza (as it requires more land other than the road) has already been acquired.

When the project was being finalised and its detailed project report (DPR) was prepared a few months ago, the officials of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had been maintaining that the road would be toll-free.

“There is a proposal to set up two toll plazas on this road and one is coming up at Choorwali near Adampur in Jalandhar district. I don’t know what my previous officers had said, but this plaza was always a part of the DPR,” confirmed executive engineer (XEN), CPWD, Hoshiarpur division Kamal Nayan.

The second toll plaza is coming up in Hoshiarpur district after crossing Hoshiapur city.

The location of the proposed plaza in Jalandhar is set to witness strong protests as Choorwali is situated around 7 km after boundaries of Jalandhar city on the Hoshiarpur road as there is resentment among residents of Adampur town and periphery villages. “I was told that there is no toll plaza coming up on the road. If there is any such plan, I will oppose it tooth and nail as it will hit hard on the pockets of the people of my area,” said Adampur MLA and CPS Pawan Tinu.

The four-lane project starts from Madara village of Jalandhar district (11.4km) to Chohal in Hoshiarpur (49.2 km) and would come up in two years under the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode. Under the EPC mode, the Centre will fund the entire project. The contractor would maintain the highway for five years after completing the construction and will collect toll tax during the same period. The toll charges have not been decided yet.