Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway
*Three packages to be ready by ending Sept 2025
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 6: Entire 144 kilometers stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway in Jammu and Kashmir will be completed by ending March next year while as three packages will be ready by ending September this year.
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This information was given in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari in response to a question regarding the time by which the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway is expected to be fully completed.
There are 18 packages of the Expressway and of these, five packages are in Haryana, eight in Punjab and five packages are in Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, there will be three spur routes—all in Punjab.
As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, work is apace on all the five packages having total length of 144 kilometers and these packages will be completed on different dates——three during the current year and two during next year—before March 31, 2026.
Two packages having length of 44.6 kilometers and 35.15 kilometers were awarded in the month of December 2021 and work commenced in the month of September 2022. One package will be completed in the month of July this year while as second one will be ready in the month of September 2025. The third package having length of 20.38 kilometers, which was awarded in October 2021 and witnessed commencement of work in September 2022, will also be completed in the month of September this year.
The fourth package having length of 28.92 kilometers was awarded in the month of August 2022 and work commenced in the month of June 2023. This package will be completed in February 2026 while as last package of 15.3 kilometers length will be completed in March 2026. This package was awarded in March 2023 and work commenced in the month of November 2023.
The Minister further informed the Parliament that four out of five packages in Haryana have provisionally been completed while as work is apace on the last one. Likewise, one package has been completed in Punjab and seven others are under construction. Similarly, two spur (short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, interstate highway or motorway) are under construction in Punjab. However, EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract for one spur has been terminated and work will be taken up after resolving of land acquisition issues.
In reply to a question as to whether there is any proposal under consideration to make Expressway toll-free or provide toll exemptions for vehicles bearing registration numbers of districts from which the Expressway is passing through, the Minister said, “toll fee is collected from road users as per the provisions of National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 and its subsequent amendments”, adding “there is no provision in Fee Rules for exemption of toll fee for any district as a whole”.
“No such proposal is under consideration by the Ministry”, Nitin Gadkari said when asked whether there are any plans to introduce special toll rates or exemptions for electric vehicles which will be using this Expressway.
The foundation stone of two packages (44.22 kilometers) of the Expressway was laid by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024. On the occasion, he had stated that Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway once completed will facilitate the visit of pilgrims to the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and will also boost economic development in the region.
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