Plans afoot to extend Ganga e-way to Haridwar: UPEIDA

AMROHA: In a significant move, the 594-km Ganga Expressway -- almost complete between Meerut and Prayagraj -- is set for expansion towards Haridwar via Amroha and Bijnor, with authorities beginning groundwork for the proposed 146.2-km extension.Officials said UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is exploring the link following an agreement between authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to develop the Amroha-Bijnor-Haridwar corridor. It would cover 116.8-km in UP and 29.3-km in Uttarakhand, and according to officials, will possibly include 204 villages in three districts, of which, 62 lie in Amroha, 117 in Bijnor and 25 in Haridwar.For the land acquisition plan (LAP), UPEIDA has issued directions to district authorities to provide “certified revenue village maps in both soft and hard formats at the earliest”, a letter, dated April 10, accessed by TOI, said. Amroha DM, Nidhi Gupta Vats, confirmed the development on Monday.An additional district magistrate-level officer has been appointed as the nodal officer for coordination, the letter stated. The responsibility of “preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for the new alignment has been assigned to SA Infrastructure Consultants Pvt Ltd”.Notably, the greenfield alignment will travel through key areas of Bijnor, before reaching Haridwar. Survey work has already begun in certain villages, according to officials.An official, privy to the development, said that timely availability of these maps is essential to accelerate land acquisition and keep the proposed e-way extension project on schedule. Once complete, it is expected to significantly improve connectivity between western UP and Uttarakhand, he added.“An alignment from Meerut to Haridwar was earlier under consideration, but the Amroha-Bijnor route has now gained approval following discussions between UP and Uttarakhand authorities in Dehradun,” the official said, adding the e-way alignment would complement the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway corridor.Meanwhile, local residents in Bijnor demanded that the corridor should pass through ancient religious places such as Vidur Kuti and Kanva Rishi Ashram as “it would help boost tourism in these areas”.