government of india, ministry of road transport and highways, is implementing the chardham mahamarg vikas pariyojna in uttarakhand. the project aims at improving the connectivity to the char dham pilgrimage centres in the himalayas, making journey to these centres safer, faster and more convenient. the chardham project includes developing 900 km of national highways in uttarakhand at a total cost of rs. 120 billion. work for 17 projects worth rs. 30 billion have already been sanctioned and tendered. the entire length of the highways will be two-laned with paved shoulder and with a minimum width of 10 metres. there will be tunnels, bypasses, bridges, subways and viaducts to prevent traffic bottlenecks. a team of experts have been engaged to identify zones prone to landslides, and environment friendly techniques are being incorporated in the design to make these zones safer. wayside amenities and public facilities will be constructed all along the chardham route, including parking spaces and helipad for emergency evacuation. the foundation stone for the project was laid on 27th december, 2016. civil work is in progress. [info as of: jan. 17]
