Punjab’s Rs 12,700 Crore Highway Push: Land Acquisition Hurdles, Clearance Delays Derail Key NHAI And PWD Projects

More than a dozen national highway projects worth around Rs 12,700 crore in Punjab have reportedly been stalled, delayed, or face cancellation, primarily due to persistent land acquisition hurdles and hold-ups in statutory clearances, Times of India reported.

In a written reply to Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari confirmed that several projects under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) have been significantly disrupted.

Key stretches of the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra expressway are among the affected NHAI projects.

The Amritsar connectivity Spur II (Rs 2,197 crore, 30.05 km) was terminated entirely due to “non-availability of land,” with fresh bids to be issued after possession.

Spur III (Rs 1,951 crore, 28.1 km) remains under construction but will be completed over two years late, now targeting November 2026.

The Amritsar–Bathinda Package I (Rs 1,229 crore, 39 km) and Amritsar–Ghoman–Tanda–Una Package I (Rs 1,443 crore, 45.73 km) have both been pushed back to 2026.

Package II of the latter (Rs 818 crore, 31.05 km) has been scrapped due to land unavailability.

Projects in Ludhiana–Rupnagar corridor have also run into trouble.

Package I (Rs 1,368 crore, 37.7 km) has seen the contractor demobilise due to delayed land handover, while Package II (Rs 1,488 crore, 47.24 km) was terminated for the same reason.

Punjab PWD’s own portfolio, worth Rs 1,800 crore, is also affected.

The Jalandhar–Hoshiarpur NH-3 four-laning (Rs 1,069 crore) is under termination, and the Jakhal bypass (Rs 50 crore) is being abandoned after negligible land transfer.

Other works, like the Makhu–Arifke NH-703A section with two road overbridges (Rs 192 crore) and the NH-354 upgrade from Arifke to Ferozepur–Muktsar–Malout (Rs 263 crore), have been delayed by both acquisition problems and no-objection certificate delays from the irrigation department.

The ministry stated that “projects in the state of Punjab are mainly delayed/stalled/terminated due to the issues relating to land acquisition and delay in obtaining statutory clearances” but assured that efforts, in coordination with the Punjab government, are underway to resolve obstacles and restart stalled works.

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