Hundreds of trees face the axe on NH-21

He said the felling of almost 200-250 trees was permitted under the four-laning project after completing the formalities and receipt of requisite charges.

The DFO disclosed that the concerned department has also deposited the requisite money for double plantation to compensate the loss of trees. “Almost 4 hectares of land, along the highway, owned by PWD and maintained by the Forest Department has been diverted to undertake the four-laning,” added Mishra.

Tracing the idea behind four-laning

In May 2007, the Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and National Highways T R Baalu had permitted the Punjab government to execute construction work on the four-laning of the 17-km stretch from Desumajra to Kurali via Kharar township at an estimated cost of Rs15 crore.

The funds for the project would be provided by the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, Baalu had announced at a high-level meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in New Delhi.

Pained over the loss of several precious lives in fatal mishaps on the “killer stretch”, Badal had become instrumental in fulfilling the long-pending demand of area residents.

The development assumes significance in view of increasing volume of traffic on the NH-21 stretch, which is a vital link between Chandigarh and most parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J&K.

While the 3 km stretch on NH-21 between Desumajra and Mohali bridge had been four-laned sometime back, the remaining 4-km stretch in Kharar was not four-laned and instead, a bypass was mooted to divert the long-route traffic from Desumajra to Khanpur. With the bypass project costing over Rs 30 crore, the project was shelved after former Kharar MLA Bir Devinder Singh had objected to the acquisition of land required for the project.

Ques: Why the ‘killer stretch’?

Data reveals that the stretch of NH-21 between SAS Nagar and Kharar bridges claims a life every alternate day with a major accident reported everyday on an average.

This highway lacks dividers, indicators, lights, speed breakers and road symbols. Accident-prone points have been identified as Daon, Desumajra, Mundi Kharar, Bansan Wali Chungi chowk, Quila Chungi chowk and Khanpur T-point.

Officials say the highway was constructed in 1940 with a speed limit of 60-kmph. Traffic volume has increased manifold over the past 66 years, say officials adding that the width of the road has remained the same.