GANGTOK, APRIL 20 : The widening of the national highway 31A from Sevoke to Gangtok will be delayed as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is yet to receive the necessary clearance from the Sikkim forest department.
The Centre has entrusted the NHAI with the responsibility of widening the NH 31A into a double-lane road, and work on the project was scheduled to begin from April 2007. However, it is learnt that the NHAI has not yet submitted the alignment map to the state forest department.
The NHAI project director, RP Singh, said work would start within the next 4/5 months after completion of the detailed project report. It will be done in two phases. Tenders for the work would also be floated, he added.
He said the double-lane road would be 35-feet wide and an additional 6- feet would be kept for pedestrian use. The existing road would be changed in some places for alignment and three tunnels and a few bridges would be constructed, Singh added.
Initially, it was planned to complete both the phases by 2009-10, but owing to delay in getting the forest clearance and for other reasons, only the first phase would be over within the stipulated period. Around Rs 900 crore would be spent for the phase I.
According to chief conservator of forest and nodal officer of highway SBS Bhaduria, the NHAI has not yet submitted any specific roadmap to them. However, it had been decided in January last that the NHAI would give a complete proposal for the 40-km stretch from Rangpo to Gangtok with its new alignment proposal and the number of houses to be demolished after consulting the district magistrate & the DFO.
(Fnancial Express)
Sikkim Served Fresh Daily
