A total of 15 major highway projects with a total length of 604 km have been suspended in the state due to farmers' protests in Punjab. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is yet to acquire 103 km of land in order to complete these projects.
These highway projects include the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. It is being developed under the Bharatmala project. NHAI is working on a total of 37 highway projects in Punjab, which are 1,344 kilometres in length and the total estimated cost is Rs 50,000 crores.
The NHAI has urged to the state government to intervene in this matter. Earlier Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha had said that administrative and police officials should discuss with the farmers and complete the land acquisition work at the earliest. The farmers' protest is majorly related to compensation and rehabilitation schemes.
Previously, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has taken a strict stand in this regard. At the time of the previous dispute, he had said that these projects could be cancelled if the land acquisition does not complete soon. This will not only delay the development works but may also cause economic loss to the entire state.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had assured farmers to solve the problem. He had said that the state government will do its best to speed up the development works and address all the concerns of farmers. The Chief Secretary and other officials have also been directed to discuss compensation and rehabilitation schemes with the farmers.
The NHAI is suffering economic losses due to delays in land acquisition. The projects whose deadlines had already been fixed are now suspended.
Farmers are not satisfied with the compensation of their land. They are demanding that the compensation should be fixed according to the market rate. Also, rehabilitation and employment opportunities should be ensured. Due to lack of coordination between farmers and administration, highway projects are facing disruption.
If this issue is not resolved soon, the state and the central government will suffer economic loss and will have a negative impact on the state's infrastructure and development as well.