Government mulls Delhi-Jaipur greenfield expressway
The road transport and highways minister added that the long-pending Gurgaon-Jaipur NH-8 project will be dedicated to the public in December
The Government is considering a proposal to build a new 261 km expressway connecting the national capital and the pink city at an estimated cost of ₹ 32,800 crore.
“We are studying the feasibility of the project for a greenfield expressway between Delhi and Jaipur." road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said in Jaipur. About 2,800 hectares of land will have to be acquired for the project, the minister said, addressing a press conference after reviewing the progress of the Delhi-Jaipur highway.
“The cost of the land acquisition will be ₹ 18,000 crore," he said. The proposed expressway will start from the south of Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi and end at Daulatpura on the existing NH-8. The expressway will help in reducing the distance between the national capital and Pink City.
Gadkari added that the long-pending project of six-laning of Gurgaon-Jaipur section of the NH-8 will be dedicated to the public in December this year. The highway project was scheduled to be ready in 2011 but it faced several hurdles and issues related with land acquisition, environmental clearance, shifting of utility services, litigation and banking which led to unexpected delays.
Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, union minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and state transport and PWD minister Yoonus Khan were also present on the occasion. Gadkari also said that government has decided to spare 1% of the cost of construction to increase green cover. “We want to develop his highway as an ideal highway. The highway will be beautified with flower and other plants and it will be properly maintained," he said.
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