About Project | Route Map | Cost | Facts & Features | Harmful Impact |

Since receiving environmental approval from the state-level entity in charge of ecological assessment, the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, the Ganga Expressway has been making headlines almost nonstop (UPEIDA). The Ganga expressway route map is also one of the longest expressways in India and will boost connectivity throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh.

During the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, construction on the project did not stop. The highway, expected to be finished by 2025, will be built in phases: Phase I and II. But on the other hand, a DPR has not been prepared yet. Through this post’s medium, let’s look at the Ganga Expressway route map project, including its route plan, length, and other relevant information.

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About Ganga Expressway Project

Entrepreneurial in nature, the Ganga Expressway was conceived as a project to enhance the state of connection throughout Uttar Pradesh’s interior areas. This highway, constructed in two parts, will be among the longest when it is finally finished. Between Meerut and Prayagraj, through Varanasi, the Ganga Expressway route map would go 602 kilometers across various regions. This road will begin at Varanasi.

Even though the purchase of land for the project is still under process, the building has not even begun yet; the Ganga Expressway is scheduled to be finished by 2025, according to current projections. Even though the state was placed under lockdown because of the second wave of COVID-19, the state government has continued to work on the expressway projects constructed around the state. This is done so that they can keep up with the schedules that have been established.

Ganga Expressway
Source: Photo by Augustine Wong on Unsplash

Ganga Expressway Route Map

The construction of the 602-kilometer-long road will occur in two stages. First, the Ganga Expressway will travel from the area close to Bijauli village in Meerut all the way up to the Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj. Along the journey, it will pass through many of the districts, important towns, and villages included in the list above.

The list of villages along the Ganga highway consists of 519 different communities. The Ganga expressway district list has a total of 12 districts in its entirety. Here is the list of 12 sections:

  • Meerut
  • Amroha
  • Bulandshahr
  • Budaun
  • Shahjahanpur
  • Kannauj
  • Unnao
  • Rae Bareli
  • Pratapgarh
  • Prayagraj
  • Prayagraj
  • Varanasi
  • Baliia

The expressway’s path would also reach the Tigri near Garhmukteshwar and go on to the Uttarakhand border near Haridwar after Phase II of the project.

Cost of Ganga Express Highway / Expressway

Over Rs. 36,200 crores has been spent on the Ganga Expressways project.

Ganga Expressway route map Details

Ganga Expressway is a greenfield, six-lane expressway project currently being developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). UPEIDA is an authority set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to build expressway projects across the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Ganga Express Highway will go across 12 districts in Uttar Pradesh and connect 519 different communities. The project would include industrial clusters along the route and public services at nine locations. Additionally, there will be an emergency landing strip at Shahjahanpur for aircraft.

The Figures:

The highway will have a maximum speed restriction for cars of 120 kilometers per hour and will be capable of being expanded to eight lanes in the future. For example, a bridge across Ganga would be one kilometer long. The other spanning the river Ramganga which would be seven hundred twenty meters long has been suggested for construction along the highway.

Along the expressway will be 9 public convenience centers, 381 underpasses, 14 major bridges, 126 minor bridges, 929 culverts, 7 ROBs, 28 flyovers, and 8 diamond interchanges. Additionally, there will be a total of 929 channels. It has been decided that the width of railway overbridges would be 120 meters.

There will be fifteen ramp toll plazas, in addition to the two major toll plazas constructed in Meerut and Prayagraj along the Ganga Expressway route map. To better safeguard the ecosystem along the path of the Ganga highway, about 18.55 million new trees will be planted.

Solar power will generate electricity on the parcel of land for the project.

Ganga Expressway: Facts And Features

Facts:

  • It will travel across 140 rivers and other bodies of water and feature six lanes, with the ability to expand to eight lanes if necessary. Additionally, it will serve as a landing strip for aircraft in an emergency.
  • During the building of the Ganga Expressway, a total of 12,000 employees would be hired temporarily. When it is finally finished, it will give employment opportunities for around one hundred individuals at each toll plaza.
  • It is anticipated that the project that will be carried out under the PPP model would cost a total of 36,230 crores of rupees.
  • Nearly 12 years had passed since the permit was gained for the highway by the government led by Mayawati in 2007. Only to have it revoked by the Allahabad High Court in 2009, before the project received environmental clearance.
  • The state government has already purchased around ninety-four percent of the land required for the project.
  • Based on the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer (DBFOT) manner on (Toll) mode, Bids have been requested.
Ganga Expressway Features
Source: Photo by and plt on Unsplash

Features:

  • It will enable the development of a highway accessible at high speeds and under all weather conditions. In addition, it will make the already congested roadways easier to travel on for the ever-increasing traffic volume.
  • The highway construction will significantly reduce the time needed to transport people and products.
  • In addition, a 3.5-kilometer-long airstrip is now being constructed in the vicinity of Shahjahanpur on the Expressway. This is to facilitate the takeoff and landing of Air Force jets during unexpected emergency situations.
  • Alongside the Expressway, other construction plans are in the works to construct an industrial corridor.
  • The Expressway would also lend a helping hand to several other industries, including agricultural, industrial growth, tourism, trade, and others. The region’s social and economic growth will receive a significant boost due to this development.

Ganga Expressway: Harmful impact 

The Ganga Expressway route map has been criticized by many environmentalists for its negative impacts on the surrounding area, even though it has several positive aspects. First, purchasing a property from more than 1040 different communities resulted in the loss of acres of land that may be used for agricultural purposes.

This posed a significant risk to the region’s ability to ensure its food supply. In addition, the work being done on the development project. Which will result in the destruction of a large number of acres of land as well as established communities. The construction of an expressway down the Ganga will endanger the natural ecology. Which exists along the Ganga, but it will also eliminate the natural habitat of various species, including birds and animals.

Ganga Expressway route map: Background

The Environmental Impact Assessment Authority approved the project that Mayawati announced in 2007, and it went through with it. After this, the Ganga Mahasabha and the Vindhya Environmental Society each filed their own case challenging the environmental clearance with the Allahabad High Court. Both petitions were opposed to the project.

The petitioners stated that the building activity would raise the amount of pollution in the river to the degree that the river Ganga would transform into a large Nala.

Since the highway is being built at much more than 7-8 meters, there will be backflow in the sewer and the Nalas and tributaries when it rains. This would result in floods engulfing most of the regions of the city and clogging the sewage lines.

The controversy:

The petitioners went on to allege that the state government and the environmental clearance body had not followed the proper procedure when they gave the project the go-light. The project was approved despite violating the legislative rules that were in effect on September 14, 2006.

The state administration argued that the marginal embankment built as part of the project would protect a vast tract of arable land from the flood. In addition, it stated that a letter was sent to the Ganga Flood Control Commission in Patna on 19 August 2007 to obtain clearance for a marginal embankment. This embankment had previously been approved by the Commission, and the letter had been directed toward obtained from the experiment from the Ministry of Surface and Transport of the expressway.

On the other hand, the Allahabad High Court, in its judgment dated May 29, 2009. The permission was granted by the state-level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. The court ruled that the entire procedure constituted a blatant breach of the Environment Clearance Regulation 2006’s statutory terms.

Ganga Expressway Route Map & The Political Parties

In 2012, the UP Government, under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, proposed resurrecting the project with the appropriate changes. However, the attention was diverted to the Agra-Lucknow expressway at that time.

Yogi Adityanath took over as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2019. Under his leadership, the state government began reviving a project. The alignment of that project was in such a way that it moved away from the bank of the Ganga river. In November 2021, the project was given the green light regarding environmental regulations.