(The Tribune)
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has discontinued the land acquisition process for its two four-lane projects, Pathankot-Mandi and Kangra-Shimla highway, falling in six districts. The NHAI has issued letters to all Deputy Commissioners and SDMs who have been overseeing the process for the last one-and-a-half year.
Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stones for these projects in 2017. The land acquisition for the first package between Chakki and 32 Miles has been completed and the state government has also initiated the process for taking over the possession of land. With this decision, both projects, valuing Rs 25,000 crore linking Pathankot with Mandi and Kangra with Shimla, have gone to cold storage. This was the major infrastructure investment plan of the government.
A senior officer of the NHAI confirmed that he had received directions from the higher authorities to stop land acquisition for these projects. He said one of the reasons could be the higher rate of land in Kangra district as in the past one year, the state had made abnormal increase in the cost of land, nearly by five times as compared to the previous year.
