Assam: Rs 6,957-cr NH expansion covering KNP elevated corridor gets nod

A historic decision for Assam and the Northeast: PM

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Union Cabinet has approved the around 85-km expansion of the National Highway from Kaliabor-Numaligarh, including the Kaziranga elevated corridor, costing Rs 6,957 crore. The 35 km elevated corridor across the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is to allow unhindered movement of animals in the park.

Speaking on the approval of the corridor by the cabinet on October 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “It’s a historic decision for Assam and the Northeast. The cabinet decision on widening and upgrading the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715, including an elevated corridor with wildlife-friendly measures in the Karizanga stretch, will boost development as well as ensure animal safety.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “This will accelerate Modi’s vision for Assam’s fast economic growth by enhancing the flow of people, goods, and services, while at the same time further elevating the stature of Numaligarh as a pillar of India’s energy sufficiency.”

Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The Kaziranga elevated corridor, part of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh expansion project approved by the Union cabinet, is a game changer. It’ll ensure unhindered all-weather high-speed vehicular movement, restriction-free animal movement, and faunal preservation.”

The existing Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 (old NH-37) has a configuration of two lanes with/without paved shoulders, passing through densely built-up areas of Jakhlabandha (Nagaon) and Bokakhat (Golaghat) towns. A major part of the existing highway passes either through the Kaziranga National Park or along the southern boundary of the park, having a restricted right of way (ROW) of 16 to 32 metres further aggravated by substantially poor geometrics. During the monsoons, the area inside the park gets flooded, leading to the movement of the wildlife from the park towards the higher ground on Karbi-Anglong Hills by crossing the existing highway. The heavy round-the-clock traffic on the highway results in frequent accidents and deaths of wild animals at this time.

To address these challenges, the project will involve the construction of an elevated corridor of about 34.5 km, covering the entire cross movement of wildlife from Kaziranga National Park to Karbi-Anglong Hills for free and uninterrupted passage of wildlife, along with the upgrading of 30.22 km of existing road and the construction of 21 km of greenfield bypasses around Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat. This will decongest the existing corridor, improve safety, and enhance the direct connectivity between Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park, and Numaligarh.

Upon completion, the Kalibor-Numaligarh section will play a pivotal role in regional economic growth, strengthening connectivity between major tourism, industrial and economic centres, boosting tourism to Kaziranga National Park, and opening new avenues for trade and industrial development. The project will also generate approximately 15.42 lakh person-days of direct and 19.19 lakh person-days of indirect employment and will open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in surrounding regions.

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