Katra-Delhi express corridor to be ready in three years: Union minister Jitendra Singh

The corridor will reduce the road travel time from Katra to Delhi to around six and a half hours, and from Jammu to Delhi to just about six hours

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that the first-of-its-kind Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor will be ready in three years and was likely to become functional by 2023. This will reduce the road travel time from Katra to Delhi to around six and a half hours, and from Jammu to Delhi to just about six hours, he said in a statement issued here.

Jitendra Singh had been pursuing this project since 2015 (HT File)

After a meeting with Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, Singh said, the 575km-long express road corridor will cost over ₹35,000 crore and it will connect Katra to Delhi via Amritsar. Enroute, the other important cities that it will touch include Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana in Punjab and, Kathua and Jammu.

It is pertinent to mention that Singh, who is a member of parliament (Lok Sabha) representing Katra Vaishno Devi, had been pursuing this project since 2015 and had for the first time about three and half years ago announced during a programme at Katra that he had submitted a proposal to this effect which had been accepted by the Gadkari but it would take time because of procedural issues like survey, land acquisition, forest clearance, etc.

The formal approval of the proposal had already been obtained from the Jammu and Kashmir administration and now it has also been obtained from the Punjab government.

The unique feature of this road corridor is that it will connect the two holy cities of Katra and Amritsar, and at the same time also offer connectivity for some of the important religious shrines between the two destinations.