RUDRAPUR: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has acquired 104.5 hectares of land for the construction of a four-lane Rudrapur bypass covering 21.476 kilometres, to alleviate traffic congestion in the area. The land has been acquired from several villages in district Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand and from district Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. The contract for the construction work, worth 600 crores, has been awarded to the Gawade Construction Company of Haryana, and the company is expected to begin construction soon.
According to Tushar Gupta, NHAI Site Engineer, “The bypass will help reduce the movement of vehicles in and out of the city, leading to a reduction in traffic congestion. The acquisition of 104.247 hectares of land, both agricultural and non-agricultural, has been completed, and a compensation of Rs 340 crore will be given to about 500 people from both districts whose lands have been acquired”.
“The acquisition includes the villages of Baradari, Chandaayan, Chandpur, Dibdiba, Inderpur, Khanpur, Manihar Khera, Sua Nagla of Bilaspur in Rampur, and Bagwala, Bhamraula, Kalyanpur, Koladiya, Matkota, Bindu Khera in the Rudrapur block of Udham Singh Nagar district. The central government has approved a budget of Rs 1051 crore for the construction of the bypass, of which Rs 340 crore will be allocated for compensation, and the remaining funds will be utilized for construction work and other requirements such as shifting electric poles and water lines”, further said Gupta.
Notably, the government had earlier planned to build a ring road, which was to be entrusted to the Public Works Department, but the proposal was put on hold due to a lack of budget. However, NHAI later proposed the construction of the Rudrapur bypass.
Gupta said that the bypass will connect NH-74 at Radha Swami Satsang Bhawan in Shimla Pistaur on Kichha road to villages in Rampur district, and the four-lane road will be constructed through Bhagwanpur located on Kashipur road. The road will further connect to the Pantnagar industrial area and thus, the vehicles will not have to come inside the city, leading to further congestion reduction.
Meenu, the Project Manager at NHAI said that the compensation for the acquired land will be given to the affected people. The construction of the bypass is expected to make the movement of vehicles much more convenient for those travelling from Delhi and other states, significantly reducing traffic congestion in the area. “The Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLO) will be providing the compensation to the concerned people”, she said.
