NHAI wants state to speed up ring road clearances, environmentalists wary

IN a bid to fast-track the implementation of two major ring road projects worth over ₹7,500 crore, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has urged the Odisha government to immediately initiate the process for statutory clearances, especially forest land diversion.

- HEMANT KUMAR ROUT @ Bhubaneswar

The two critical infrastructure projects - Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR) and Sambalpur Ring Road - have been delayed by over two years due to pending forest clearances at various levels within the state Forest department.

Worried over the delay, NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav has requested chief secretary Manoj Ahuja to intervene and direct forest officials to expedite the process for obtaining the clearances at the earliest.

"The projects are time-bound, and postponement in statutory approvals could lead to significant time and cost escalations. Delays also deprive the state of timely benefits in terms of improved connectivity, enhanced productivity, overall development, and increased GDP contribution," Yadav said in a letter to Ahuja.