The proposed Chambal Expressway worth Rs 8,250 crore will help connect far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The project will also provide cross-connectivity with the Golden Quadrilateral’s Delhi-Kolkata corridor, North-South Corridor, East-West Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai-Expressway.
Chambal Express Project
The Expressway will provide a direct link between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 280-km-long expressway will run parallel to the Chambal river via Shivpuri, Bhind, Morena to Kota (Rajasthan). The expressway which is about 404 km long provides an alternate route from Kanpur to Kota through Madhya Pradesh, and then it joins the Delhi-Mumbai corridor. The expressway will connect the North-South Corridor to the East-West Corridor and will lead to overall development of the area. The expressway will have a length of 85 km in Rajasthan and 195 km in Madhya Pradesh.
It is also aimed that the land acquisition should cater to the development of way side amenities besides industrial and commercial clusters with potential for having smart cities, mandis, hunar haats etc on both sides. It has also been proposed that setting up a Chambal Development Authority will lead to better coordination and progress of this region. The expressway will offer huge employment potential in these districts and adjoining areas. The project can also have logistics parks, on the lines of the multi-modal logistics parks being constructed in Indore, Jabalpur and Jaipur.
The farmers of all three states will benefit since they can send their produce to Delhi, Mumbai markets. It could also be a game changer for tribals and poor living in the far-flung areas, specially Chambal region which is considered as one of the most backward areas in the country. The proposed expressway will prove to be the newest model of infrastructure development jointly between the states and the Centre.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been tasked to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) at the earliest. The project is expected to be completed in about two years after land acquisition.
