Work underway for 25 highways in Himachal: JP Nadda 

Bilaspur, July 5 (IANS) Amidst a “rift” between the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Himachal Pradesh government, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday said work is going on 25 national highways in the state, whose total length is 2,592 km. 

Out of these, 785 km is being built by the NHAI, 1,238 km by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways MoRTH and 569 km by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), all Central government organisations. 

Nadda thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for these projects. 

The rift between the NHAI and the state government erupted earlier this week after the alleged assault took place, following the collapse of a vacant five-story residential building that was close to the under-construction highway. 

The state police on July 1 registered a case against state Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh Rana and six others on charges of assaulting two NHAI officials, raising a political storm with the state opposition BJP seeking his removal from the Cabinet. 

Nadda, who belongs to Himachal Pradesh, told the media in his hometown, Bilaspur, that four major NHAI projects are underway in the state, and their maximum work would be completed by 2026 and 2027. 

He said for the four-lane Kiratpur-Manali National Highway, designed to bypass Mandi city, Rs 7,667 crore has been allocated. On this highway, 12 tunnels of 11.51 km are under construction. 

Likewise, for the Shimla-Mataur highway, there is an allocation of Rs 10,208 crore with the provision of 15 tunnels of a length of 13.41 km. The Pathankot-Mandi highway, with an outlay of Rs 1,088 crore, has 13 km of a total length of 10 km. 

Union Minister Nadda said that he would speak to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on issues related to the construction of the highways. He said the sanction for the Sumdo-Kaza road was received in 2024, and this work is being done by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), but the state government is still not able to give its forest clearance. 

For his home district, Bilaspur, Nadda said Rs 35 crore has been allocated for the Ghumarwin-Shahtalai Road, and it would be upgraded by 2026. 

Responding to the “rift” between the NHAI and the state Congress government, the BJP national President said, “What can be expected from a government in which the protectors are the predators? Himachal Pradesh is Dev Bhoomi (land of gods), and such incidents are worrying and also saddening. It has never happened before in Himachal Pradesh that a public functionary has taken the law and order into his own hands.”

Nadda said an attempt is being made to create an environment in Himachal Pradesh that the Central government “is not paying attention to Himachal. But contrary to this, the state government is unable to spend the money allocated by the Centre.” 

Quoting official figures, the Union Health Minister said from 2021 to 2025, a sum of Rs 360.11 crore has been provided by his ministry under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), out of which the state government has been able to spend only Rs 78 crore. 

Under this scheme, 73 block-level public health units are proposed to be built in the state, but only six have been built, while tenders have been done for 14. Eight critical care units are to be established. 

Likewise, the state has been allocated Rs 521 crore by the 15th Finance Commission, out of which only Rs 128.62 crore lakh has been spent. He said the Chief Minister came to meet him on May 25, and he sought funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 

The Centre approved Rs 1,138 crore on June 30. Out of this, Rs 1,024 crore has been given as a grant-in-aid to the state, while the remaining is a loan at a low rate of interest. 

For natural calamities, Nadda said Prime Minister Modi has provided Rs 1,736 crore under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), Rs 1,071 crore under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and Rs 339 crore under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund in three years to the state. Recently, the Home Minister has allocated Rs 2,006 crore under the Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund (PDRRF) to the state.