NEW DELHI: The 404-km Chambal Expressway, passing through far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, has been included in phase-1 of Bharatmala Pariyojana, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.
Last year, Gadkari had said the Rs 8,250-crore Chambal Expressway project could be a game-changer for the poor and tribals living in far-flung regions of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
He had also urged these states to expedite land acquisition, environment clearances and tax relief for the project.
"Following projects have been included in Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-1: Chambal Expressway (404 Km), Greenfield connectivity of NH-26 and NH-75 outside Jhansi (16.8 Km) and Dwarka Circle to Nashik Road section of NH-60 (5.9 Km)," he tweeted.
The Chambal Expressway project will also provide cross-connectivity with the Golden Quadrilateral's Delhi-Kolkata corridor, North-South corridor, East-West corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimising efficiency of freight and passenger movement through interventions like development of economic corridors, coastal and port connectivity roads and greenfield expressways.