The Central Government has presented a big roadmap towards giving new impetus to road connectivity in Rajasthan. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced national highway projects worth about Rs 16,551 crore during his visit to Kota. Which includes Mukundara Bypass, Greenfield Connectivity to Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Bhawani Mandi Link and most importantly Atal Expressway. If we look at all these projects, then Kota to Jhalawar of Rajasthan and Etawah of UP and some districts of MP are being directly and potentially affected by them. The length of all these is about 492 kilometers. Let us tell you about it in detail.
The Union Minister also spoke on Delhi and Mumbai Expressways during his Kota tour. This expressway, being built at a cost of approximately Rs 1.10 lakh crore, is being considered as the most modern high-speed corridor of the country. Gadkari told during the inspection that most of the work of the project has been completed and the remaining construction will be finished in the next two years. He said that during his last visit to Kota, he had realized that a more direct and faster connection could be developed between Delhi and Kota instead of the existing circuitous route. Based on this thinking, new projects directly connecting the Kota area to the expressway were approved. This is expected to directly benefit Rajasthan’s industry, logistics, tourism and goods transportation. After the completion of the expressway, there will be a significant reduction in travel time between Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, which will also accelerate business activities.
These highway packages got approval
- About 10 km long four-lane Mukundra Bypass in Kota-Jhalawar section on National Highway-52 has been approved at a cost of Rs 551 crore. The construction of this project is said to start in the next three months.
- Apart from this, a 21 km long four lane greenfield spur connecting Kota to Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has also been approved, on which about Rs 1,000 crore will be spent. This route will directly connect Kota to the expressway through Alantpur and surrounding areas, which will reduce the pressure of heavy vehicles entering the city and reduce travel time.
- At the same time, development of 51 kilometer four lane road corridor in Kota-Delhi-Mumbai-Baran-Bhanpura direction has also been announced. Including all these projects, the Central Government has announced a National Highway Development Package of about Rs 16,551 crore for the Kota region.
3 states will be connected to Atal Expressway
The most discussed among the announced projects was Atal Expressway. Earlier it was proposed as Chambal Express Highway, but now it has been named in honor of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This project, with an estimated cost of around Rs 15,000 crore, will start from Kota to Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and will develop parallel to the Chambal river. This expressway will directly connect Hadoti region of Rajasthan, especially Kota, Jhalawar and Bhawani Mandi, with Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Currently its detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared. Construction work will start after the planning process is completed. This corridor will not only establish faster connectivity between the states, but can also prove important for transportation of agricultural products, industrial investment and tourism development. Apart from this, Gadkari clarified that work on DPR has also started to connect Bhawani Mandi with Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, due to which this area will get direct benefit of the expressway network.
15 districts will benefit
Atal Expressway will start from Kota in Rajasthan and reach Etawah in Uttar Pradesh via Sheopur, Morena and Bhind districts of Madhya Pradesh. This 409 km long Greenfield Expressway will directly connect at least five districts of three states to the high-speed road network. Apart from this, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar and Bhawanimandi of Rajasthan’s Hadoti region are expected to get better connectivity, while Gwalior, Datia and surrounding Chambal division districts of Madhya Pradesh can also benefit through interchanges and link roads. Apart from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, due to better connectivity with Agra-Lucknow Expressway and other national highways, nearby districts like Firozabad, Mainpuri, Auraiya and Kannauj are also likely to get indirect benefits.
In his address, Gadkari also said that there is no shortage of funds for the development of national highways in Rajasthan. He said in the presence of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and local public representatives that the Center will give positive consideration to all the projects sent by the state. He jokingly said, “You will get tired of asking, but I will never get tired of giving.” According to him, Rajasthan can send proposals for road projects costing Rs 50 thousand crore, Rs 1 lakh crore or even more. If the announced projects are completed on time, Kota and Hadoti regions can become one of the most important road transport hubs of North India. This is also likely to give significant impetus to industrial investment, employment, tourism, agricultural marketing and regional economic development.
Leave a Reply