Amritsar excluded from Rs 60,000-crore Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway project

Local Cong MP Aujla writes to PM raising concern, BJP Rajya Sabha member Malik blames state govt for exclusion

In a major setback for the holy city, which is a hub of religious tourism in northern India, the entire Amritsar district has been excluded from the much-hyped Rs 60,000-crore Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway project, as per the official website of Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change

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Though Amritsar has been excluded from the project, its name is still part of the project that is aimed at promoting tourism by linking two major religious shrines -- Golden Temple in Amritsar and Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra of Jammu and Kashmir, apart from opening the golden gate for boosting economy of northern region.

The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is an under-construction 575-km controlled-access passage, which will connect Delhi with Amritsar in Punjab and Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. It will be constructed as part of the Bharatmala project.

As per the website http://environmentclearance.nic.in of the Union ministry, Amritsar district is not part of execution of the project, which means the expressway bypasses the district in the alignment proposed for it.

Observing that the entire Amritsar district is missing from the alignment of the expressway, he said, “I request you on behalf of all the residents, business owners, pilgrims and transporters connected with Amritsar to reconsider this project and make necessary amendments to reconnect Amritsar with the said highway”.

Former BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik said, “I have also written to Union road and transport minister Nitin Gadkari to include Amritsar again in the project”.

However, he blamed the Capt Amarinder Singh government in Punjab for exclusion of Amritsar. “I am sure the conspiracies of the Congress government led to the exclusion of Amritsar from the project”.

Kulwant Singh Ankhi, patron of Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM), a local NGO, said, “Along with Amritsar, residents of Tarn Taran district are also pained as they feel cheated at the hands of higher authorities of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).”