Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday, 4 April, announced approvals worth over ₹1,206 crore for upgrading two national highway stretches in Gujarat, improving connectivity to industrial zones, pilgrimage sites, and wildlife sanctuaries in the state.
The larger of the two sanctions covers the 57.848-kilometre Chitrod-Rapar-Balasar section of NH-927C at a cost of ₹698.78 crore.
The highway originates from NH-27 – the Amritsar-Jamnagar corridor – near Chitrod and terminates at NH-754K near Balasar.
The route is industrially significant as it connects Fatehgarh, the primary source of raw materials for Morbi’s ceramic industry, easing the transportation of inputs to one of India’s largest ceramic manufacturing hubs.
The project also includes a bypass around Rapar town to reduce congestion within the city.
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The corridor also connects several tourist destinations including Dholavira, Dhordo, and the popular ‘Road to Heaven’ stretch, and the upgrade is expected to improve both connectivity and road safety along the route.
The second sanction covers the 68-kilometre Nalia-Narayan Sarovar section of NH-41 at a cost of ₹508 crore.
Narayan Sarovar is one of Hinduism’s five Panch-Sarovars – the sacred lakes – and draws thousands of pilgrims to two major fairs held there annually.
The upgraded highway will also improve tourist access to the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, also known as the Lala-Parjan Sanctuary, and the Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, giving a boost to the region’s tourism economy.
The project will address identified accident-prone stretches along the route and is expected to reduce travel time while also improving onward connectivity from Narayan Sarovar to Mundra Port.
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