Gandhinagar, July 10 (IANS) Work to extend the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway to Bhavnagar will begin within the next three months, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

He said this while holding a high-level review meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on the progress of National Highway projects across the state on Thursday.

The meeting in Gandhinagar focused on the implementation of key highway and expressway projects, land acquisition, funding and measures to accelerate infrastructure development.

Senior officials from the Union and state governments also attended the review.

During the meeting, Gadkari reviewed the progress made since a similar meeting with the Gujarat government in November last year.

Chief Secretary M.K. Das and Chief Minister’s Adviser S.S. Rathore presented updates on the implementation of decisions taken earlier, following which the Union minister expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved.

The review covered several major projects, including the six-laning of National Highway-48 between Vadodara and Mumbai, the Samakhiali-Maliya section of the Morbi-Samakhiali road, the Rajkot-Gondal-Jetpur road, the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway, the Ahmedabad-Godhra-Indore road, the Jamnagar-Amritsar Expressway, the Palanpur-Samakhiali Corridor and the Ahmedabad-Shamlaji six-lane project.

While reviewing projects being executed under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Gadkari said, “The work to extend the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway up to Bhavnagar will commence within the next three months.”

He also urged the Gujarat government to send proposals at the earliest for securing financial assistance for National Highway projects under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.

Gadkari praised Gujarat’s approach to facilitating land acquisition for highway projects by keeping proceedings for non-agricultural (NA) permission on hold for 60 days while Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are being prepared.

Congratulating the state government, he said: “The model could serve as an example for the rest of the country by helping simplify land acquisition during the planning stage of road projects.”

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel noted that effective coordination among various state government departments had accelerated land acquisition and other processes required for road infrastructure development.

He also urged the Union minister to expedite work on the Palanpur-Samakhiali Corridor.

Emphasising environmentally sustainable infrastructure development, Gadkari said: “Trees affected by road expansion should be transplanted elsewhere along the same road alignment wherever possible to ensure road widening while preserving green cover, in line with the environmental approach advocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Dr Jayanti Ravi, Additional Chief Secretary (General Administration) Dr Anju Sharma, NHAI Technical Member Alok Deepankar, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Chief Engineer Manoj Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjeev Kumar, Principal Secretary (Forest and Environment) Dr Vinod Rao, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr Vikrant Pandey, Roads and Buildings Secretary Prabhat Patelia, Special Secretary Gandhi, and senior officials from the NHAI and the Gujarat government.

–IANS

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