NHIDCL Confirms Brahmaputra Express Highway Not Envisaged, Dashes Hopes in Upper Assam

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: A long-pending question over the fate of the much-publicised Brahmaputra Express Highway has finally been answered - and the news isn't what residents of Upper Assam were hoping for. The National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has informed a Dibrugarh resident that no such project currently exists in its mandate.

The clarification came in response to a letter written by a citizen, Parag Dutta of Udaypur, Dibrugarh, who had approached the Prime Minister's Office on June 26, 2026, seeking an update on the ambitious highway project. In his letter, Dutta recalled that former Assam Chief Minister and present Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had inaugurated preliminary survey work for the project at the DTP dyke on the Brahmaputra bank in Dibrugarh back on January 24, 2017. The proposed highway was meant to run along the Brahmaputra's bank from Sadiya to Dhubri with the stated aim of transforming connectivity, boosting tourism, and addressing chronic erosion problems in the region.

Dutta pointed out that over nine years had passed since the survey's inauguration without any visible progress, leaving citizens uncertain whether the project was still alive or had been quietly shelved. He noted that while other infrastructure initiatives, such as the underwater road-cum-rail tunnel connecting Gohpur and Numaligarh, had moved forward, the Express Highway's status remained unclear. His letter was registered with the PMO on July 3, 2026 and subsequently forwarded through the CPGRAMS grievance portal.

In its reply dated July 31, 2026, NHIDCL's Regional Office in Guwahati stated plainly that the corporation has received his grievance but that the Brahmaputra Express Highway 'is not envisaged' in its mandate. The letter, signed by General Manager Binayak Kumar, offered no further explanation on whether the project had been formally scrapped, renamed, or absorbed into another scheme.

Also Read: NETC to Build Girls’ Common Room at Goalpara School Under CSR Initiative