Delhi-Dehradun expressway: In a significant update, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that the Delhi-Dehradun expressway will be completed within the next three months. The expressway is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours. Currently, the travel time between the two cities is five to six hours. Speaking at the ‘Times Network India Economic Conclave 2024’, Gadkari said the Delhi-Dehradun highway project has two packages.
“A Rs 10,000 crore project has been approved for Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj, extending to Faridabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the project within the next 15-20 days,” Gadkari said.
Key details about Delhi-Dehradun expressway
The project, also called the Delhi-Dehradun elevated expressway, is expected to benefit the residents of Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh and the tourists and devotees coming to Uttarakhand for the Char Dham yatra. According to the National Highways Authority of India, as many as 7,575 trees have been felled on a nearly 16-km-long section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and over 1.76 lakh are to be planted in compensation for it.
Of the felled trees on the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section of the project, 4,983 were in Uttarakhand, while 2,592 were in Uttar Pradesh, the NHAI said in response to a query filed under provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act. According to the compensatory afforestation scheme submitted by the forest departments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, 1,76,050 trees are to be planted by them to make up for the felling of 7,575 trees, the NHAI said.
36 green express highways in pipeline
Speaking at the event, Gadkari said that his ministry is working on 36 green express highways, which will help reduce the logistics costs in the country. “India’s logistics cost is 14-16 per cent compared to 8 per cent in China and 12 per cent in the US and European Union. We aim to bring this down to 9 per cent in two years,” he said. According to the minister, this will push India’s exports by 1.5 times and help us become more competitive.
(With PTI inputs)
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