(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved widening, to four-lane, and improvement of the existing carriageway of the Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 in Assam, including the implementation of wildlife-friendly measures proposed on the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) stretch.

The project will be developed on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode with a total length of 85.675 km at Rs 6,957 crore, according to a Cabinet communique.

The project will also generate approximately 15.42 lakh person-days of direct and 19.19 lakh person-days of indirect employment, and will open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in surrounding regions.

The existing Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 (old NH-37) has a configuration of two-lane with/without paved shoulders, passing through densely built-up areas of Jakhlabandha (Nagaon) and Bokakhat (Golaghat) towns.

A major part of the existing highway passes either through the Kaziranga National Park or along the southern boundary of the park, having a restricted right of way (ROW) of 16 to 32 metres, further aggravated by substantially poor geometrics.

During the monsoons, the area inside the park gets flooded, leading to the movement of the wildlife from the park towards the elevated Karbi-Anglong Hills by crossing the existing highway. The heavy, round-the-clock traffic on the highway results in frequent accidents and deaths of wild animals.

To address these challenges, the project will involve the construction of an elevated corridor of about 34.5 km, covering the entire cross movement of wildlife from Kaziranga National Park to Karbi-Anglong Hills for free and uninterrupted passage of wildlife, along with the upgradation of 30.22 km of existing road and the construction of 21 km of greenfield bypasses around Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat.

This will decongest the existing corridor, improve safety, and enhance the direct connectivity between Guwahati (the state capital), Kaziranga National Park (tourism destination), and Numaligarh (an industrial town).

The project alignment integrates with two major National Highways (NH-127, NH-129) and a State Highway (SH-35), providing seamless connectivity to key economic, social, and logistics nodes across Assam.

Additionally, the upgraded corridor will enhance multi-modal integration by connecting with three railway stations (Nagaon, Jakhalabandha, Vishwanath Charli), and three airports (Tezpur, Liabari, Jorhat), thereby facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers across the region.

Upon completion, the Kalibor-Numaligarh section will play a pivotal role in regional economic growth, strengthening connectivity between major tourism, industrial and economic centres, boosting tourism to Kaziranga National Park, and opening new avenues for trade and industrial development.

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