Chandigarh, May 19: Haryana, an agriculture-oriented state, is now moving forward in strengthening the road, rail and aviation sector in the last eight-and-a-half-years. The state has ushered in a new era in these areas and with the untiring efforts of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, the central government has accorded expeditious approval to various important projects of Haryana and several projects have been completed during this tenure.
Also, under the Bharatmala project, the work of several new highways is in progress in the state and many cities have been connected with various national highways; which has not only facilitated the movement of the people but has also increased the pace of industrial development. Along with this, the rural economy has also been strengthened.
On Thursday, Haryana got another gift of highway in the form of Dwarka Expressway. The 29.6 km long Dwarka Expressway at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore is the country's first elevated 8-lane access control expressway; of which 18.9 km falls in the Haryana region. The people of state will get a lot of benefit from this, especially providing relief to Gurugram from traffic congestion.
Chief Minister's special focus on making traffic smooth in Delhi, NCR and Haryana since 2014
Since assuming power in 2014, the Chief Minister has laid special focus to provide relief to the commuters by making traffic smooth in Delhi and the National Capital Region. He not only got the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway project completed, which was stuck due to political disputes for a long time; but also got it made from four-lane to six-lane. He had also urged the Central Government to complete the work of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway which was successful. As a result, the movement of commuters and goods vehicles going beyond Delhi was facilitated.
Metro, rail infrastructure also being strengthened
Delhi Metro was extended to Gurugram, Ballabgarh and now the metro project between Gurugram and Faridabad has also been prepared with the efforts of the Chief Minister, which will be completed in the next two years. Apart from this, the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor project came into existence in line with the vision of the Chief Minister to strengthen the railway infrastructure from Palwal to Sonipat. Under this, the construction work of the first phase from Manesar to Patli is in progress at a cost of about Rs 176 crore and is expected to be completed by the year 2024.
On the initiative of the Chief Minister, the state has formed Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation as a joint venture with the Ministry of Railways to expedite the railway projects; under which works like renovation of railway stations, electrification of railway lines and making the state free from manual railway crossings are being done.
For this, the work of 104 ROBs and RUBs was started from October, 2014 to November, 2022, out of which the work of 58 ROBs and RUBs has been completed and the work of 46 is in progress; whereas in the budget speech of the year 2023-24, the Chief Minister has set a target of construction of 36 ROBs and RUBs.
Railway bypass in Rohtak and Kurukshetra
In view of the problems faced by the people following traffic congestion due to railway crossings, the Chief Minister directed the officials to prepare a new action plan to resolve the problem. Under this, Rohtak got the gift of railway bypass with the completion of the elevated railway line project in the district. After that the work of the elevated railway line project started in Kurukshetra also, which is likely to be completed by the end of this year. Now the state government has also made a project of elevated railway lines in Bahadurgarh and Kaithal.
In 2023-24, target set to improve about 5,000 kilometres of roads
The government is continuously working towards strengthening the road network in the state. The present state government during its tenure has constructed more than 5,460 kilometres of new roads with an amount of more than Rs 2,300 crores. Not only this, more than 311 km of new roads have been constructed and 2,954 km of roads have been improved during the year 2022-23. In the year 2023-24, a target has been set to improve 5,000 km of roads. Also, the government will also start construction of 14 new bypasses to reduce congestion and improve road safety.
State government's emphasis on operation of aviation system
In the last eight-and-a-half-years, the state government has also emphasized on the operation of the aviation system. Hisar airport is being developed as an aviation hub, the work of which is going on at a fast pace. Karnal airport will also be expanded, for which land related procedures have been completed and work is likely to start this year itself.
There is also a plan to expand Bhiwani and Bachhod (Narnaul) airstrips. Besides, there is also a proposal to start a heli-hub in Gurugram, which aims to provide facilities for maintenance, repair and overhauling of helicopters. Apart from this, it also has an important purpose of using the services from the heli-hub as an air ambulance in case of emergency. The government has created the Haryana Airports Development Corporation for the overall development of aviation infrastructure in the state.