PM Modi to lay foundation stone & inaugurate development projects worth Rs 18,000 crore in Uttarakhand

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multiple projects worth around Rs. 18,000 crore including Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor on Saturday in Dehradun, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

A significant focus of the Prime Minister’s visit to the state will be on projects to improve the road infrastructure, which will make travel smooth and safer and increase tourism in the region, the ministry said.

This is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost connectivity in the areas which were once considered far-flung. The total number of ongoing works for the development of National Highways in Uttarakhand is 83 which are targeted to be completed between 2021 and 2023, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) will be built at a cost of around Rs. 8,300 crore.

The project will be executed under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.

For implementation, the entire length from Akshardham (starting point) to Dehradun will be divided into 4 sections.

Section 1 is being developed to 6 lanes with 6L service road being in built-up reach, with complete access control and is divided into 2 packages. Package 1 falls in the Delhi portion in the length of 14.75 km and out of this 6.4 km is elevated, the official statement reads.
Package 2 falls in Uttar Pradesh in the length of 16.85 km and out this 11.2 km is elevated. This section would start from Akshardham Temple near Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) and pass through Geeta colony, Khajurikhas, Mandola, etc. This highway aims to decongest North East Delhi and also enhance the development potential of Tronica city, MandolaVihar Yojana of the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Section 2 is planned 6-lane fully access controlled and the entire length is Greenfield, passing through districts of Baghpat, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) is complete. The land acquisition process is going on and Forest/Environment clearance proposals have been applied, it added.

Section 3 starts from Saharanpur bypass and ends at Ganeshpur. The entire length has recently been completed to 4 lanes by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Necessary underpasses and service roads are being planned to make it fully access controlled to achieve a minimum 100 km/hr speed.

Section 4 is planned 6-lane with complete access controlled. This section primarily passes through Reserve Forest in the State of Uttar Pradesh &Uttarakhand. Out of 20 km, 5 km is brownfield expansion and 15 km is realignment comprising of elevated wildlife corridor(12 km) and approaches to a tunnel(structure 340m).

Rights-Of-Way (ROW) is restricted to 25 metres in general due to Wildlife concerns. Forest and Wildlife clearances have been obtained.
As far as the salient features of the corridor are concerned, the corridor will reduce the distance between the two cities from 235 kilometres to 210 kilometres.

The project will significantly reduce the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun from six hours to around 2.5 hours. The entire corridor is designed for driving with a minimum 100 km per hour speed.

Wayside amenities, every 25-30 km, have been provisioned for enhancing the road user experience.

A closed toll mechanism would be adopted to enable pay toll only to the extent of highway used.

It will have seven major interchanges for connectivity to Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Yamunanagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut.
The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor will have arrangements for rainwater harvesting at intervals of 500 meters and over 400 water recharge points.

The Greenfield alignment project from Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor connecting Halgoa, Saharanpur to Bhadrabad, Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2000 crore.

Among the environment-friendly features of the corridor, it will have Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 km) for unrestricted wildlife movement, a 340-meter long tunnel near DatKaali temple, Dehradun will help reduce the impact on wildlife and multiple animal passes have been provided in the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section for avoiding animal-vehicle collisions, it added.

The development of this corridor is expected to boost the overall economy of the region. This project will provide seamless connectivity and reduce logistics costs.

It will facilitate larger connectedness between economically important production and consumption centres and generate ample employment opportunities, both direct and indirect.

The construction of the corridor will give impetus to the development of tourism, especially in Haridwar which is a popular tourist destination, in the project-covered areas and all-around development of the states.

Apart from the corridor, PM Modi will inaugurate seven other projects, including those which focus on making travel safer by tackling the problem of chronic landslides in the region.

Amongst these projects are the landslide mitigation project at Lambagad (which is en-route the BadrinathDham) and chronic landslide treatment at Sakanidhar, Srinagar and Devprayag on NH-58. The Lambagad landslide mitigation project in the chronic landslide zone includes the construction of reinforced earth wall and rockfall barriers. The location of the project further adds to its strategic significance.

The road widening project from Devprayag to Srikot and fromBrahmpuri to Kodiyala on NH-58 under the Chardham road connectivity project.

The 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over River Yamuna at a cost of over Rs 1700 crore, will also be inaugurated, along with a Himalayan Culture Center at Dehradun. The Himalayan Culture Centre will house a state-level museum, 800 seat art auditorium, library, conference hall, etc. which will help people follow cultural activities as well as appreciate the cultural heritage of the State.

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the State of Art Perfumery and Aroma Laboratory (Centre for Aromatic Plants) in Dehradun.

The research done here will prove useful for the production of a variety of products including perfumes, soaps, sanitisers, air fresheners, incense sticks etc., and will lead to the establishment of related industries in the region as well. It will also focus on the development of high yielding advanced varieties of aromatic plants