The proposed Chambal Expressway worth Rs 8,250 crore will help connect far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Central government has urged the states to expedite land acquisition, environment clearances and tax relief for the project.
The project will also provide cross-connectivity with the Golden Quadrilateral's Delhi-Kolkata corridor, North-South Corridor, East-West Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai-Expressway.
The farmers of all three states will be the biggest beneficiaries to send their produce to Delhi, Mumbai markets. The proposed expressway will prove to be the newest model of infrastructure development jointly between the states and the Centre.
The expressway which is about 404 km long provides an alternate route from Kanpur to Kota through Madhya Pradesh, and then it joins the Delhi-Mumbai corridor.
The land acquisition should cater to the development of wayside amenities, besides industrial and commercial clusters with potential for having smart cities, mandis, hunar haats, among others, on both sides. The expressway will offer huge employment potential in these districts and adjoining areas.
The royalty and tax exemptions on the project material will save more than Rs 1,000 crore. The Madhya Pradesh government has already exempted royalty on minerals for this project.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been tasked to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) at the earliest. The project is expected to be completed in about two years after land acquisition.
The states will share the Rs 650 crore land acquisition cost. The Centre has also suggested forming a Chambal Development Authority for better coordination and progress of the region.
The project can also have logistics parks on the lines of multi-modal logistics parks being constructed in Indore, Jabalpur and Jaipur.