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nhidcl: Two govt agencies tussle over highway & tunnel projects in J&K, north-east | India News – Rashtra News : Rashtra News
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NEW DELHI: A fierce competition has started between two government agencies – BRO and NHIDCL – engaged in building highways and tunnels in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and in the north-east. While in J&K, both the agencies are eyeing to get same stretches under UT administration for development, in Assam the two entities are parallelly preparing two project reports for twin tunnels beneath the Brahmaputra.
The issue of J&K roads came up at a recent meeting chaired by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who has urged the director general (roads) to sort out the issues between two organisations, a source said. TOI has learnt that the UT administration has given the task of seven out of 11 road projects to Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and because of the ongoing tussle the remaining four works have been put in abeyance. Sources said Sinha flagged the concern at a review meeting where officials from BRO, road transport ministry and NHIDCL were present.
Sources also said the NHIDCL has taken up the task of preparing project reports for tunnels at Khardung-la, Fotu-la and Namki-la passes in Ladakh, though the stretches have been entrusted to the BRO. “All this has resulted in two organisations preparing different plans for the same stretches despite the government’s focus for integrated planning and execution of infrastructure projects,” a central government official said.
Similarly, both the agencies are preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for twin-tube tunnels under the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam. While the NHIDCL is preparing the DPR for a 15.6 km twin-tube tunnel, the BRO is preparing a similar 7 km rail-cum-highway tunnel. Both the agencies have claimed that their DPRs are at advance stage. The NHIDCL tunnel plans to connect Gohpur with Numaligarh in Assam while the BRO project plans to connect the strategically important Misamari and Tezpur.
The issue of the tunnel proposed by the NHIDCL came up at a meeting chaired by the road transport secretary recently. He has directed the managing director of NHIDCL to discuss the matter with the chief of defence staff for endorsement of its plan as this is a “strategically important” proposal before preparing a draft note for cabinet committee on security.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the NHIDCL claimed that when the matter of the two tunnel projects was brought before the defence ministry, it was decided that BRO should not proceed further as the NHIDCL’s DPR is at an advanced stage.
During his recent visit to Delhi, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had urged defence minister Rajnath Singh to approve the under river tunnel proposed by BRO. Tezpur is the headquarters of the Army’s 4 Corps that oversees Arunachal Pradesh and it is also the gateway to Tawang on the India-China border.
Recently, both the agencies had prepared two proposals for another tunnel at Shinkun-la pass in Ladakh. But defence ministry gave the go ahead to the BRO’s proposal.
The issue of J&K roads came up at a recent meeting chaired by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who has urged the director general (roads) to sort out the issues between two organisations, a source said. TOI has learnt that the UT administration has given the task of seven out of 11 road projects to Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and because of the ongoing tussle the remaining four works have been put in abeyance. Sources said Sinha flagged the concern at a review meeting where officials from BRO, road transport ministry and NHIDCL were present.
Sources also said the NHIDCL has taken up the task of preparing project reports for tunnels at Khardung-la, Fotu-la and Namki-la passes in Ladakh, though the stretches have been entrusted to the BRO. “All this has resulted in two organisations preparing different plans for the same stretches despite the government’s focus for integrated planning and execution of infrastructure projects,” a central government official said.
Similarly, both the agencies are preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for twin-tube tunnels under the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam. While the NHIDCL is preparing the DPR for a 15.6 km twin-tube tunnel, the BRO is preparing a similar 7 km rail-cum-highway tunnel. Both the agencies have claimed that their DPRs are at advance stage. The NHIDCL tunnel plans to connect Gohpur with Numaligarh in Assam while the BRO project plans to connect the strategically important Misamari and Tezpur.
The issue of the tunnel proposed by the NHIDCL came up at a meeting chaired by the road transport secretary recently. He has directed the managing director of NHIDCL to discuss the matter with the chief of defence staff for endorsement of its plan as this is a “strategically important” proposal before preparing a draft note for cabinet committee on security.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the NHIDCL claimed that when the matter of the two tunnel projects was brought before the defence ministry, it was decided that BRO should not proceed further as the NHIDCL’s DPR is at an advanced stage.
During his recent visit to Delhi, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had urged defence minister Rajnath Singh to approve the under river tunnel proposed by BRO. Tezpur is the headquarters of the Army’s 4 Corps that oversees Arunachal Pradesh and it is also the gateway to Tawang on the India-China border.
Recently, both the agencies had prepared two proposals for another tunnel at Shinkun-la pass in Ladakh. But defence ministry gave the go ahead to the BRO’s proposal.
( News Source :Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Rashtra News staff and is published from a timesofindia.indiatimes.com feed.)