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Union minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha that multiple packages in the greenfield expressway project, covering 80 km in Punjab and around 45 km in Jammu and Kashmir, have a deadline of March 2026
Union minister Nitin Gadkari with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann during his visit for the inspection of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra greenfield expressway and Amritsar Bypass. (Image: PTI/File)
Among Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s favorite road projects is the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra greenfield expressway connecting Jammu and Kashmir with Delhi through an access-controlled road. But this dream has to wait another year as the deadline for several sections of the project is March 2026.
The Lok Sabha on Thursday was told that multiple packages, covering 80 km in Punjab and around 45 km in Jammu and Kashmir, have a deadline of March 2026.
This expressway will enable commuters from Delhi to reach Amritsar in four hours and Katra in six hours. At present, the distance between Delhi and Katra is 727 km; this route will reduce the distance by 58 km.
The total length of the project is around 670 km and the construction cost is Rs 40,000 crore. Starting from Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway in Delhi, the Katra expressway will cross Haryana (137 km), Punjab (399 km) and J&K (135 km).
In Punjab, along with three spurs of a collective length of more than 75 km, the expressway will pass through industrial areas like Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, and Gurudaspur. Gadkari said out of these three spurs, the contract of one road was terminated due to land acquisition issues.
At least five packages of the project, which are in Haryana and Punjab with a collective length of 152 km, are provisionally ready. This includes the initial 121 km in Haryana, while work on only a single package of 38 km remains and has a deadline of April 30. Data shows that work on all the remaining packages across Punjab and J&K is underway.
NO FREE ACCESS EVEN FOR ELECTRIC CARS
Gadkari explained no exemption or special toll rates for electric vehicles using the expressway has been proposed or is “under consideration by the Ministry”.
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, representing Dera Baba Nanak, was told that toll is collected from road users as per the provisions of National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, and its subsequent amendments.
“There is no provision in fee rules for exemption of toll for any district as a whole,” the minister said.
