NEW DELHI: The road transport and highways has given its “in-principle” approval for the Atal Progress-way, also known as the Chambal Expressway. The project will connect the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway with the Bundelkhand Expressway and will pass through parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.The 420-km expressway, a mix of expansion of existing highway stretches and construction of a greenfield section, would cost around Rs 14,000 crore. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari confirmed this to TOI on Tuesday. The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by Gadkari on Monday evening and was attended by MP CM Mohan Yadav and two Union ministers — Bhupender Yadav and Jyotiraditya Scindia.National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will build the 6-lane access-controlled corridor. Officials said the alignment of the project was reworked after the earlier plan faced some issues. “The new alignment falls outside forest and wildlife areas, and also outside the Chambal ravines (beehad). After major modification in the alignment, the environment clearances have been obtained. The project will benefit aspirational (backward) regions in all the three states,” said an official.The access-controlled corridor will connect Kota in Rajasthan with Etawah in UP and cities in MP, including Morena and Bhind. This will reduce both travel time from 10-11 hours at present, to only 5-6 hoursOfficials said the corridor will also provide connectivity to Agra-Jhansi, Kota-Jhansi-Kanpur and Agra-Kanpur highways. They added that the corridor is envisioned as a critical infrastructure aimed at improving connectivity and facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers across the region.
