Greenfield Highway DPR not submitted for appraisal, government says

It was directed to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Asked and answered by: Asked by Shri V K Sreekandan; Answered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari).

What the government said

• The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 121 km, 4-lane Access Controlled highway (NH 966) is under review for fresh traffic and engineering due diligence.
• Design revisions are underway, proposing viaducts instead of Reinforced Soil (RS) Walls over 10m high, citing recent issues on NH-66 in Kerala.
• Total land requirement is 652 Ha with an estimated acquisition cost of Rs. 6816 crore.
• Land acquisition status: 84% under Section 3A and 3D, 83% under Section 3G, and 77% under Section 3H of the National Highway Act, 1956.
• Rs. 4319 crore has been disbursed towards the land acquisition cost.
• The highway is planned to originate near Marutharoad on NH-544 and terminate at Pantheerankavu on NH-66.
• The alignment intersects 5 State Highways (SH-70, SH-39, SH-73, SH-28, SH-65) and 15 major district roads.
• The project has not yet been submitted for appraisal to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

Also in the document

• The government stated that the project has not yet been submitted for appraisal to the Department of Economic Affairs, which contradicts the premise in part (d) of the question that NHAI had completed all other tasks except building inventory.
• The answer specifies 15 major district roads intersecting the alignment, whereas the question referenced five major district roads.
• The answer notes that the project approval is subject to traffic density, connectivity requirements, and synergy with PM Gati-Shakti principles.