Road to Nowhere? Kashmir’s semi-ring road delayed till 2025

Srinagar, July 29: The ambitious semi-ring road project in Kashmir, designed to alleviate Kashmir’s growing traffic congestion, is now facing a significant delay of 16 months.

This setback adds to a mounting list of infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir experiencing time overruns.

According to the May report from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), which oversees infrastructure projects valued over Rs 150 crore in India, the Kashmir Semi Ring Road project has encountered a 16-month delay.

Initially approved in March 2021 with a completion date set for February 2024, the deadline was later pushed to August 2024.

The latest revision now places the completion date in June 2025, the report reveals. The project, estimated to cost Rs 2919 crore, has already seen a cumulative expenditure of Rs 2023 crore.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is overseeing the construction of this expansive road network that will span five districts of Kashmir.

An NHAI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited compensation disputes with landowners as the primary cause for the initial delay.

“There were disagreements with farmers and landowners regarding compensation at the earlier stage, which now has been sorted out, this has significantly slowed the project's progress,” the official said. “The work is continuing despite these challenges.”

The project’s scope is substantial, requiring the acquisition of 4730 kanal of agricultural land across Kashmir.

Budgam district will be most affected, losing 3661 kanal, followed by Pulwama (379 kanal), Srinagar (202 kanal), Ganderbal (176 kanal), Bandipora (160 kanal), and Baramulla (150 kanal).

This large-scale land acquisition has sparked resentment among local farmers, who fear for their livelihoods.

The semi-ring road project is divided into two phases.

Phase I would connect Galander to Narbal junction with a four-lane road (expandable to six lanes), spanning 34.72 km.

Phase II would extend from Narbal to Ganderbal with a two-lane road covering 27.2 km.

The completed project would feature numerous infrastructure elements, including 290 culverts, two road-over bridges, two flyovers, 10 major junctions, 26 minor junctions, and a toll plaza at Narbal junction.

The design also allows for future expansion to accommodate increasing traffic needs.

This project is among 30 of the 51 projects experiencing time overrun ranging from 2 to 261 months (21 years, 9 months), according to MoSPI’s report.

Earlier, Greater Kashmir reported how the delays in the completion of the project are leading to a huge cost overrun.

Eleven multi-crore infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir face a staggering cost overrun of Rs 41,965 crore.