Shillong, May 10: The state government expects that land acquisition to turn the route between Umiam and Malidor into four lanes will be the biggest hurdle of the central government-funded project.
Umiam in Ri-Bhoi to Malidor in East Jaintia Hills is currently 200km along the existing roads. The route is a vital one not just to reach the eastern parts of Meghalaya but also to connect Tripura, Mizoram and Assam’s Barak Valley to the rest of the country.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who also holds the Public Works Department portfolio, today convened a meeting with his officials and the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) to discuss the status of the survey of the route from the Umiam flyover to Malidor on the border with Assam. The highway from Jorabat to Umiam flyover is already four lanes.
The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 20,000 crore, Tynsong informed.
The government is anticipating land acquisition to be one of the major hurdles and Tynsong has therefore instructed the Deputy Commissioners of the districts along the route to have a dedicated district committee by involving all officers of each department as members along with representatives of the NHIDCL.
Currently, East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi already have their own district committee and it is now left to West and East Jaintia Hills to constitute theirs.
“Land acquisition is one of the major challenges that we’re anticipating, so that’s why I had called this meeting and directed those two districts to constitute a committee involving all departments like PWD, Revenue, Forest Department, Agriculture and others. They will be members of that committee and they will look into all these aspects,” Tynsong said.
NHIDCL has to first complete a detailed survey of the route and planned alignment of the expanded road.
“We’re in a final stage to decide on the Packages I, II and III. In Meghalaya we have five packages. Apart from that, we also have a proposal for construction of tunnels, so three tunnels will be constructed along this road,” Tynsong informed.
