look news india
The Central and State Governments have taken another big step towards making the road connectivity and logistics network in Uttar Pradesh of global standard. A detailed action plan to upgrade the state’s highly congested and heavily trafficked major National Highway corridor from the existing 4-lane to a state-of-the-art 6-Lane Access-Controlled Highway has been finalized.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved this mega upgrade project to provide a permanent solution to the ever-increasing traffic density (PCU), expansion of industrial corridors and daily traffic jams. With the 6-lane construction of this highway, there will be a huge reduction in travel time by 40% to 50%, which will not only speed up inter-district traffic but will also give a new impetus to the industrial development of the state.
The most important and sensitive phase in any highway expansion project is land acquisition. Project Director and Competent Authority (Land Acquisition – CALA) of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has shared the latest guidelines clarifying the position of farmers and landowners:
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3A and 3D Gazette Notification: The list of affected villages and Khasra numbers for additional 15 to 25 meter width Right of Way (RoW) on both sides of the highway has been published in the official gazette.
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Drone Mapping and Digital Survey: State-of-the-art 3D drone survey has been completed to create accurate digital records of land boundaries, existing construction, trees and tube wells etc.
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Compensation up to 4 times the circle rate: Under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act (RFCTLARR Act), compensation to farmers will be decided on the basis of multiplier formula of market rate/circle rate applicable in rural areas, so that landowners will get full and transparent value of their land.
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Payment through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): The compensation amount will be transferred directly to the Aadhaar-linked bank account of the land owner without middlemen. NHAI has also made it clear that physical possession of the land for construction work will not be taken until 80% compensation is distributed.
With the construction of 6-lane of this important highway, many industrial and agricultural districts of Uttar Pradesh will be directly connected with each other and the capital Lucknow through high-speed network:
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Bypass of major junctions: Dedicated greenfield bypasses will be built to keep the dense towns and markets falling on the route of the highway free from traffic jams.
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Network of underpasses and flyovers: Vehicular underpasses (VUP), Light Vehicle Underpasses (LVUP) and Pedestrian crossings (PUP) will be installed every 1 to 2 kilometers for safe movement of local villagers, school children and cattle.
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Provision of service lane: A 2-lane paved service road will be built on both sides of the populated areas, which will allow local vehicles to reach their destinations without having to climb onto the main 6-lane express carriageway.
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Intelligent Transport System (ITS): The entire 6-lane stretch will be equipped with high-speed CCTV, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, weather monitoring sensors and emergency call boxes.
The widening of the national highways connecting Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Meerut-Noida in western UP is being considered as the backbone towards making the state’s economy 1 trillion dollars.
With the construction of a 6-lane highway, there will be a huge reduction in the logistics cost. Delivery of fruits, vegetables, milk and industrial goods will be done on time without any interruption. Along with this, there will be a huge boom in new warehousing hubs, logistics parks, cold storage and dhaba-hotel business on both sides of the highway, which will create thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities for the youth at the local level.
According to NHAI officials, tenders are being invited on EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) mode by dividing this entire 6-lane project into 2 to 3 separate packages.
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Civil Work Deadline: A strict target has been set to complete the construction work within 24 to 30 months of tender allotment and issue of work order.
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Environment and Safety Standards: During road construction, green belts will be developed on both sides and concrete storm-water drainage will be made for drainage.
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Modernization of Toll Plaza: Infrastructure will be created for GPS-based barrier-less tolling (Multi-Lane Free Flow) on the highways, so that vehicles do not have to wait in queues to pay toll tax.