Himachal Speaker seeks national highway status for strategic corridor

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania has asked the Centre to grant National Highway status to a strategic road corridor linking Dharamshala, Chamba and the remote Pangi region. He raised the demand during a meeting with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on 26 October, submitting a written representation that highlighted the route’s importance for troop movements from the Army’s divisional headquarters at Yol Cantonment. The corridor runs via Shahpur, Draman, Singhuta, Chuwari, Chamba, Jot and Tissa to Pangi.

Gadkari said the central government was finalising its policy for declaring new National Highways and that the proposal would be considered after the guidelines are completed. Pathania noted that some stretches of the route have already been widened to nearly double-lane standards with World Bank and central funding. No approval was announced. Separately, at a function in Kakira on 29 October, the Speaker also urged the Centre to grant Himachal a fair share of revenue from its natural resources and to bring the same road under NHAI without unnecessary delays.