The Union cabinet has approved the four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of National Highway (NH) 715 to avoid man-animal conflict and deaths, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Vaishnaw briefed the committee about the four-laning of the highway, which crosses through Kaziranga National Park, stating that it features a 34-kilometre elevated viaduct.
"The fifth big decision taken by the Union Cabinet today is the four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 (86 km, Rs 6,957 Cr). It has a 34 km elevated viaduct, which passes through the Kaziranga National Park," Vaishnaw said while addressing a gathering here.
"In Assam, the wild animals, including the Rhinoceros, at Kaziranga National Park start coming towards the hilly area during the monsoon, which is when they have to cross the road. This creates a problem of animal conflict and death. The four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 will be done, and a major part will be elevated," he added.
According to an official release, the centre has decided to widen and improve the existing carriageway to four lanes of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section.
This project aims to upgrade the existing highway from two lanes to four lanes along the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section (NH-37/NH-715) in the state of Assam.
Spanning 85.67 km across Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, and Golaghat districts, the project incorporates wildlife-friendly measures, including an elevated corridor and wildlife crossings, to protect the biodiversity of Kaziranga National Park.
As this happened, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union cabinet.
"My gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet for approving the widening of the 4 Lane Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of the NH-715 for Rs 6,957 crore," Sarma said.
"The project also includes the ambitious 34 km Elevated Corridor in Kaziranga, which will ease traffic movement and at the same time save the lives of our faunal friends who fall victims to accidents. This is a major infrastructure project which will transform connectivity in Assam and open a new template of human-animal coexistence," he informed.
Meanwhile, India got its first second-generation ethanol plant on September 14, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's bamboo-based refinery unit in Assam. The foundation stone of the NRL Bio Refinery at Numaligarh was laid by the PM himself on February 9, 2019.
This is significant news for Assam in particular, and the northeast region as a whole, as these states grow bamboo in abundance.
In 2014, the ethanol blending was just 1.53 per cent. By 2022, India had achieved a 10 per cent blending rate, five months ahead of schedule.
The original target of 20 per cent blending (E20) by 2030 was advanced to 2025 and has already been achieved in the current ethanol supply year (ESY).
The Numaligarh Rs 5,000 crore 2nd-generation bioethanol plant is the first of its kind in the world to utilise bamboo.
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