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• The West Bengal government has granted in-principle approval for handing over seven national highway stretches to National Highways Authority of India and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
• The decision is expected to revive long-pending infrastructure works on strategic road corridors that were awaiting formal transfer from the state Public Works Department.
• Key stretches include NH-312 connecting multiple districts up to the India-Bangladesh border, along with portions of NH-31 and NH-33 in West Bengal.
• Several northern corridors linking Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh, including routes in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Jaigaon, will now be developed by NHIDCL.
• The move is aimed at accelerating national highway development, improving cross-border connectivity and easing execution delays that had persisted for nearly a year.
The West Bengal government has approved the transfer of seven national highway stretches to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), paving the way for execution of several delayed road infrastructure projects across the state. Advertisement
According to an official statement, the stretches were previously under the national highway wing of the state Public Works Department and the handover proposals had remained pending for nearly a year despite repeated requests from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The lack of formal transfer had stalled development works on several strategic transport corridors in the state.
The chief secretary’s office stated that the latest approval would allow central agencies to proceed with infrastructure development without further administrative delays.
Among the stretches being handed over to NHAI is the 329.6-km NH-312 corridor connecting Jangipur, Omarpur, Krishnagar, Bongaon and Basirhat up to Ghojadanga along the India-Bangladesh border. Additional stretches transferred to NHAI include sections of NH-31 connecting the Bihar-West Bengal border to Gazole and NH-33 up to Farakka.
Four other stretches have been handed over to NHIDCL, including the Sevoke Army Cantonment–Coronation Bridge–Kalimpong–West Bengal–Sikkim border corridor under the new NH-10 alignment. Other routes include the Hasimara–Jaigaon stretch up to the India-Bhutan border, the Baradighi–Mainaguri–Changrabandha corridor extending towards the Bangladesh border and the Siliguri–Kurseong–Darjeeling hill road.
The transferred stretches are considered strategically important for interstate and international connectivity, particularly for movement towards Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The road corridors also play a key role in freight transportation, tourism access and regional trade movement across north Bengal and adjoining border regions.
The clearance is expected to accelerate execution of highway widening, strengthening and connectivity projects under central agencies, particularly in regions where terrain and border connectivity requirements demand specialised infrastructure planning and implementation.
Source - PTI
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