Varanasi to get two mega elevated corridors as Cabinet clears ₹25,446-crore projects

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved two major elevated corridor projects worth over ₹25,400 crore in Uttar Pradesh to decongest Varanasi.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CCEA cleared the construction of a 43.218-km elevated corridor along the Varuna river at a total capital cost of ₹10,998.32 crore and a separate 46.039-km six-lane greenfield elevated corridor along the Ganga river at a cost of ₹14,447.64 crore.

Both projects will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).

"If we look at Banaras (Kashi) today, around 15 crore tourists visit Kashi every year. It is a very large number, and it is growing rapidly because the Prime Minister has instilled a renewed sense of pride in India's heritage," Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at the Cabinet briefing. "As a result, people from across the country and around the world are visiting Kashi."

The Varuna corridor will connect NH-31 with the Varanasi Ring Road and Kashi Railway Station through a predominantly elevated six/four-lane corridor comprising flyovers, loops, ramps and service roads.

According to the government, the project will cut travel time between NH-31 and Kashi Railway Station from about 40 minutes to 20 minutes and improve connectivity to the Varanasi Ring Road, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, major railway stations, Ramnagar Port, the city's ghats and adjoining Chandauli district.

The project has an estimated capital cost of ₹10,998.32 crore, including ₹4,565.33 crore towards civil construction and ₹934.91 crore for land acquisition.

The second project, the Ganga Elevated Corridor, will provide a six-lane access-controlled link between NH-19 and the Varanasi Ring Road.

It will include an iconic 910-metre cable-stayed bridge across the Ganga, a 1.32-km extradosed foot over bridge-cum-major bridge equipped with travelators, rail over bridge, loops, ramps and service roads.

The corridor is expected to reduce average travel time across its influence area from around 60 minutes to 20 minutes.

The travel time between NH-19 and Kashi Railway Station will be cut from nearly 50 minutes to about 25 minutes, the government said.

The ₹14,447.64-crore project includes a civil construction cost of ₹6,037.85 crore and land acquisition cost of ₹541.11 crore.

The government said the corridor would improve access to major landmarks, including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Banaras Hindu University, Namo Ghat, Ramnagar Fort and the ghats of Varanasi.

An elevated spur between BHU/Lanka and Samne Ghat has also been planned to ease congestion at the busy Lanka Junction.