Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Vikramaditya Singh confirmed that the land acquisition process has officially commenced for the widening of Shimla’s main Circular Road. Addressing the physical constraints of the state capital, the Minister stated that the current infrastructure, built during the British era, can no longer sustain the city’s present load. While official census figures place Shimla’s population between 2 to 2.5 lakh, daily movement scales up to nearly 5 lakh when factoring in commuters, daily workers, and tourists.
The expansion initiative will require land and structural acquisitions along key bottlenecks—including Victory Tunnel, the Secretariat stretch, IGMC, and Sanjauli—resulting in localized displacement. Assuring affected property owners, the government emphasized that all acquisitions will strictly follow established land acquisition policies, with compensation calculated according to prevailing circle rates.
To address long-term traffic congestion rather than temporary fixes, the state is combining road expansion with strategic alternative routes. As part of this comprehensive mobility strategy, approval has been granted for the first phase of a dedicated double-lane tunnel connecting Talland directly to IGMC, with Detailed Project Reports (DPR) currently underway to streamline internal travel and bypass heavy arterial routes.
Vikramaditya Singh Advocates Regional Dialogue to Handle Himalayan Crises
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