The ministry of road transport and highways has approved the four laning of Pinjore-Nalagarh highway and has asked the Himachal Pradesh government to prepare a feasibility report on the same. The ministry clarified about the approval in a reply filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in relation to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) along with Laghu Udyog Bharati.
The association had filed a writ petition in the high court peeved over the indifferent attitude of the Haryana government and ministry of road transport and highways over repair of National Highway No 21A, especially the portion from Pinjore to Baddi. The writ was treated as PIL in its first hearing held on March 18. The latest hearing was held on April 24 in which the reply was filed. In its petition, the association had urged the high court to give directions to the officials concerned in the Haryana government as well as of the ministry of road transport for immediate repair of road portion from Pinjore to Marranwala to Baddi without any delay. The association also requested the high court to give directions for the widening of road to four/six lane as per volume of traffic.
The road transport ministry also stated that around Rs 4.86 crore have been released to the Haryana government for repairing this stretch.
The four laning will take place in two phases. The Haryana Public Works Department (National highways) and Himachal government have been asked to complete the repair work soon. Deepak Bhandari, advisor of BBNIA, told FE that the association approached the high court about a month ago after making endless efforts to take up the matter with the Haryana PWD (NH) department. ?Since, the transport ministry has approved the four laning process, work is expected to be complete soon. The Himachal government is likely to prepare the feasibility report in three-four months and by then the repair work is expected to be complete.?
It is pertinent to note that there was no pucca road connecting Pinjore with the Baddi industrial belt. Despite industry representatives holding several protests and meetings with the government officials, no sign of progress could be seen on this link since last few years.
Now, the repair work on the stretch is in progress. The stretch from Pinjore to 2.2 km ahead is being repaired and about 75% of the work is complete. From 2.2 km to 11.5 km, the tenders will soon be allotted for its widening and relaying. And from 11.5 km to 17.5 km, the work has been allotted and will be complete by June. The total cost on repair of this stretch comes to around Rs 15 crore.