Gadkari lays foundation to ₹2,500 cr projects

JAMSHEDPUR: Union minister of transport highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation for two major highway projects worth ₹2,500 crore in the Khunti district of Jharkhand on Sunday.

“The 31.31 km Ranchi (Tupdana) - Khunti 4-lane bypass will cost ₹2,047 crore along with the widening of the existing Ranchi-Khunti road. The widening upgrade of the 48.16 km Khunti-Bero two-lane highway will cost ₹492.25 crore,” Union minister for agriculture and tribal affairs, Arjun Munda, told HT on Sunday.

Munda further said that the Ranchi-Khunti four-lane bypass would connect Ranchi, Khunti, and West Singhbhum districts, and the Khunti-Karrawill Bero road would connect Khunti, Ranchi, and Lohardaga districts.

“The completion of the 138 km Khunti-Karra-Bero road will pave the way for linking it with the proposed SambalpurRanchi expressway economic corridor in the future. Similarly, the Ranchi-Khunti bypass create great opportunities for employment and business for local people as it will link mining belts as well as tourism sites like Hirni Falls, Birsa Munda Deer Park, Panchghagh, etc.,” added Munda.

Meanwhile, the Union government has sanctioned ₹936.26 crore for the single four-lane elevated corridor between Pardih Kali Mandir and Baliguma Chowk on NH-18 (formerly NH-33) in Jamshedpur, Gadkari said through a social media post on Saturday.

“₹936.26 crore has been sanctioned for the Pardih Kali Mandir - Dimna Chowk - Baliguma Chowk 10 km single fourlane elevated corridor on NH-18 in Jamshedpur. This has been planned for enhanced security, freeing the city of Jamshedpur of jams, reducing the traffic load on city roads, and facilitating smooth transport through the highways,” Gadkari said in his post on X.

Earlier, the Union minister had announced a doubledecker elevated corridor for Pardih Kali Mandir to Baliguma Chowk stretch in Jamshedpur, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation stone for the project on July 22, 2022.

However, when Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato met Gadkari on December 14, 2023, over the delay in the project, the minister told him that the estimate for the double-decker flyover had escalated to ₹2,200 crores, which would require approval from the Union Cabinet.

He suggested a single fourlane flyover instead to facilitate the commencement of work on the ground immediately.

THE UNION GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO SANCTIONED ₹936.26 CRORE FOR THE SINGLE FOURLANE ELEVATED CORRIDOR BETWEEN PARDIH KALI MANDIR AND BALIGUMA CHOWK ON NH-18