NHAI starts work on ₹1,357-cr highway in HP

NHAI has started construction work on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway, which directly connects Pathankot with Leh, Ladakh and other border areas. NHAI has already acquired land in 40 revenue divisions of Nurpur in which 27 upmohals comprising forest land that has to be used for NH-154 widening. The executing agency has completed earth cutting in the forest land for tracing a new alignment of the four-lane project under the jurisdiction of the Nurpur forest division from Bodh to Bherkhud in Nurpur before obtaining mandatory FCA permission of the apex court. The Pathankot-Mandi four-lane project has strategic importance, however, its construction could not be initiated even in the package one from Kandwal to Sihuni in Nurpur section during the past five years after its foundation stone was laid by the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2017 in Kangra. The project will reduce the distance between Pathankot and Mandi from 219 km to 171 km. The NHAI, through global bids, has awarded construction work of the package first from Kandwal to Sehuni (from Kandwal to Mao and Mao to Sihuni) to two construction companies at an investment of ₹1,357 crore.