Fourlane Update: Decision on eight projects of National Highway will be taken today. Environment and Forest Department has called a big meeting on forest clearance.
In this meeting, the projects stuck in FCA will be discussed. Only after this discussion will it be decided whether the work on these projects will start or not.
The Forest Department has already given approval for all these projects and after that the files have been sent to the Forest and Environment Department of the Central Government. Actually, after getting the approval of the Forest and Environment Department, the project was sent to the Supreme Court.
The approval of the Supreme Court was necessary for any major project, but last year, on the petition of NHAI, the Supreme Court in a decision declared the approval of the Forest and Environment Department as satisfactory.
Along with this, NHAI was given a big exemption. In this, relief was given from sending the file to the Supreme Court, which means that now the work of four-laning can start only on the basis of the preliminary approval received from the Central Government.
At present, eight important projects to be discussed in the meeting include Kanthlighat to Dhalli, four projects of Shimla-Mataur and three different projects of Pathankot-Mandi NH.
NHAI project director Ram Asra Khural said that a meeting of the forest and environment department is about to take place.
All these eight projects will be discussed in this meeting. As soon as the approval is given, the work of other projects including Kanthlighat-Shimla four lane will be completed in three years.