24th June, 2021 would be written in golden letters in the annals of Himachal Pradesh as Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari performed inaugurations and laid foundation stones of road projects worth Rs.6155 crore for Himachal Pradesh in the presence of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur through video conferencing from Manali in Kullu district. Union Minister dedicated four lane Parwanoo-Solan section of NH-22 (new NH-05) having length of 39.14 kilometers constructed at a cost of Rs. 1303 crore. He laid foundation stones of four lane of Kangra Bypass to Bhangbar section of NH-88 (new NH-303, 503) having length of 18.13 kilometers to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 1323 crore, four lane of Kiratpur to Nerchowk (Greenfield alignment) section NH-21 (new NH-205,154) having length of 47.75 kilometers to be constructed by spending Rs. 2098 crore, four lane/two lane of Paonta Sahib to Hewna section of NH-707 (Green National Highway Corridor Project) of 25 kilometers length to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 273 crore, two lane of Hewna to Ashyari section of NH-707 (Green National Highways Corridor Project) of 25 kilometers length on which Rs. 243 crore would be spent, two lane/intermediate lane of Ashyri to Sri Kyari section of NH-707 (Green National Highways Corridor Project) of 25 kilometers length to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 346 crore, upgradation of Intermediate lane of Sri Kyari to Gumma section of NH-707 (Green National Highway Corridor Project) of 19.9 kilometers length to be built by spending Rs. 349 crore, upgradation of intermediate lane of Gumma to Fediz section of NH-707 (Green National Highway Corridor Project) having length of 8.65 kilo meters on which Rs. 126 crore would be incurred, two lane of Paonta-Rajban-Shillai-Meenus-Hatkoti road NH 707 having length of 12.71 kilometers to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 94 crore.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that Himachal Pradesh was indeed the most beautiful State of the country. He said that roads were the prerequisite of overall development of any nation. Roads were also important for the tourism promotion and Himachal, being a tourist State, better roads in the State, would go a long way in tourism promotion. He said that within the next two years the travelling distance between Delhi to Kullu would be reduced to seven hours. This would give big boost to tourism development in the State. He assured that all the roads, foundation stones of which were laid by him today would be completed within a stipulated time period. Nitin Gadkari said that road projects worth Rs. 15000 crore would be awarded to Himachal Pradesh this year. DPR for construction of 40 kilometers left bank road project at Manali would be prepared at the earliest. He said that the Union Government would provide all possible assistance to the State Government for construction of alternative mode of transportation such as cable car etc. and for strengthening the road networks in the State.Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that being a hilly State, roads were the only mode of transportation in the State. Therefore the main focus of the political leadership as well as the common people was roads. He said that even the first Chief Minister of the State Dr Y.S. Parmar about 50 year ago had summed up the developmental priorities of the State in just three words “Road, Road and Road’. He said that today the State has about 40,000 kms road length, but being a hilly State, lot more needs to be done. He said that roads and that too better roads were the foremost requirement for inviting and attracting the tourists to the State.
Jai Ram Thakur thanked the Union Minister for dedicating and laying foundation stones of road projects worth Rs 6155 crore for the State. He said that the present State Government has succeeded in sanctioning 997 projects for the State from Centre during the last three and a half years. During this period the BJP Government connected 305 villages by roads as compared to 261 roads connected during the tenure of the Congress Government. He said that 216 bridges and 2951 kms roads were connected during the last three years as compared to 145 bridges and 1585 kms roads during the tenure of the previous Congress Government.Chief Minister urged the Union Minister for construction of Bhuboo Jot tunnel and for double lanning of Left Bank Road for Manali town. He said that the people of the country were fortunate that they had a visionary Minister in form of Nitin Gadkari, who is known for his innovation and commitment. He said that the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was a brainchild of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee due to with road infrastructure in the State could be strengthened. Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways Gen. V.K. Singh said that road projects worth Rs. 2000 crore have been completed in the State and work was in progress on projects worth Rs. 7000 crore. He expressed hope that in this Golden Jubilee year of its Statehood, the State of Himachal Pradesh would progress leap and bound to become a ‘Model State’ of the country.
Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur while addressing the event virtually from New Delhi, said that the road infrastructure in the country has witnessed unprecedented expansion. He said that the Union Minister would definitely provide projects for the State for strengthening the road network in the State.Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur welcomed the Union Minister, Chief Minister and other dignitaries present on the occasion. He thanked the Union Minister for dedicating road projects worth crores of Rupees for the State. A short film on these proposed eight new road projects and one dedicated four lane Parwanoo-Solan section was also screened on the occasion. Technical Education and Tribal Development Minister Dr. Ram Lal Markanda, MP Kishan Kapoor and Indu Goswami, MLAs Surender Shourie, Kishori Lal, Jawahar Thakur, Balbir Verma and Rajesh Thakur, former MP Maheshwar Singh Thakur, Additional Chief Secretaries Ram Subhag Singh and J.C. Sharma, DGP Sanjay Kundu, Principal Secretary PWD Subhasish Panda, officers of NHAI, were present on the occasion, whereas MP and State BJP President Suresh Kashyap, MPs, MLAs, State BJP Office bearers joined the event virtually.