Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to intervene in facilitating the acquisition of land for 20 major national highway projects in the state, said a source.
The letter also says that the implementation of these projects is facing “substantial delays” due to problems related to land acquisition, the source added.
“I have been informed that in West Bengal, 9 projects are under DPR (detailed project report) and 11 projects costing ₹8,003.14 crore are under
different stages of implementation. However, these projects are facing substantial delays due to pending approvals from district authorities for critical activities like land acquisition, forest clearance, utility shifting, etc,” reads the letter.
Sources in the state government said that the implementation of the projects was very important to upgrade infrastructure in the state.
The total project cost would be much higher than ₹8,000 crore as the estimated project cost for another nine projects, for which the DPR is being prepared, would be added with the amount mentioned by the minister, said a source.
“This huge investment will definitely boost the economy of the remote areas of the state at a time the rural populace is stressed over the lack of jobs under the 100 days’ job scheme,” said a senior government official.
In his letter, Gadkari mentioned projects — carried out by both the NHAI and the state PWD — were facing several kinds of land acquisition-related problems.
Urging Mamata’s intervention at the earliest, Gadkari writes: “I would be grateful if you could instruct the concerned Land Revenue, Forest and other authorities to provide all necessary clearances in a timely manner, enabling smooth project implementation without any unnecessary delays.”
The projects, Gadkari wrote, could be given momentum if the Bengal chief secretary convened regular review meetings with all stakeholders.
“I also request you to advise the chief secretary to convene a monthly review meeting with all stakeholders including representatives from my ministry and NHAI. This regular meeting will facilitate prompt resolution of pending issues with focus on land acquisition, forest clearances and other critical matters…” the Union minister wrote.
Sources in Nabanna said that they were aware that these projects were vital for Bengal and the state government would get all required steps done once they received a green signal from the top.
However, a source said that it appeared unlikely that land acquisition would gain momentum ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
“The state government is very sensitive about the acquisition of land.... The projects would definitely get momentum after the polls due in about 15 months,” the
source added.