Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari on Saturday reviewed the proposed Chambal Express project through video conference.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia were also present on the occasion.
Speaking during the meeting Mr Gadkari emphasised on expeditious environment clearance, land acquisition, and royalty/local tax exemptions to make the project see the light of the day soon.
He underlined that apart from providing smooth traffic and goods movement the project will immensely benefit the area and people of the backward region along the expressway.
The proposed project offers huge employment potential, he added.
It also will provide cross connectivity with Golden Quadrilateral's Delhi-Kolkata corridor, North-South Corridor, East-West Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai -Expressway. The Rs 8,200 crore project will pass through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, he said.
Union Minister suggested that Chief Ministers of these states -- through which road will pass --should chair a State level High Powered Committee meeting to sort all state-specific issues which will facilitate the faster implementation at optimum cost.
Mr Gadkari informed that he has directed Chairman of NHAI to prepare DPR at the earliest. It is expected that the project may be completed in about 2 years after land acquisition.
He opined that the Chambal Development Authority can be formed for better coordination and progress of this region and called upon the states to sort out the forest, environment, and land acquisition issues in top priority.
Further, Mr Gadkari invited the states to send bus ports and driver training school proposals.
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