Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu on Monday agreed to expeditiously start work on the prestigious Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway project.

Acquisition of land for the Rs 30,000 crore project, of which Rs 10,000 crore will be spent by the NHAI on 300 km stretch in Punjab, will commence soon, said an official spokesperson after a meeting between the Chief Minister and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman on Monday afternoon.

The NHAI chairman informed the Chief Minister that decks for the project had been cleared since the shorter alignment proposed by the Authority had now been finalized.

During the meeting, Capt Amarinder also sought early execution of Shambu-Jalandhar (old NH-1), Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai Section of NH 95, and demanded termination of toll collection on NH 44 as work on the same had not yet been completed.

Referring to four-laning of Kharar-Banur-Tepla road on NH 205A, the Chief Minister pointed out that despite the road having been transferred to NHAI since May 2017, work on its four-laning project had not commenced till date. He urged the NHAI to get work on the project initiated without further delay.

Demanding a comprehensive review of the toll road in Zirakpur town by NHAI, along with GMADA and local Municipal Council, the Chief Minister pointed out that as a result of the road currently being a toll road, there were frequent and major traffic bottlenecks in Zirakpur town on the existing NH 22 section.

As a result of the dense residential or commercial activity on both sides of the road, severe traffic jams were witnessed there, necessitating a relook at the toll arrangement, he added.