Kota–Etawah to Get 404 km Atal Progress-Way, Landowners in 3 Districts to Receive Double Compensation

Atal Progress-Way: A plan is underway to construct a 404 km Atal Progress-Way between Kota and Etawah. For this, the acquired lands of the 90 pre-identified villages will be re-verified. Following this, farmers concerned will be given double the compensation.

Atal Progress-Way: The 404 km long Atal Progress-Way between Kota and Etawah is now planned to be built on the old route alignment. After receiving indications from the state government, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started the process of verifying the land previously identified in 90 villages in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, 48 villages in Sheopur and 23 villages in Bhind are also included, whose verification is pending.

The reason for re-verifying the lands identified three years ago is to ascertain if farmers have sold the lands marked for acquisition during this period. After verification, the names of the farmers, their villages, and the land area will be published for land acquisition.

Money will be transferred to accounts after claims and objections are resolved

After claims and objections, the money for the land acquired from farmers will be transferred to their bank accounts. The old route alignment of the Atal Progress-Way will pass through 90 villages. This includes land from 11 villages in Sabalgarh, 29 villages in Joura, 15 villages in Morena, 10 villages in Ambah, and 25 villages in Porsa.

Action was halted after opposition to the new route alignment

Six years ago, in 2020, when the survey for this project was conducted, a list of farmers' lands was prepared for acquisition. Before the land acquisition could take place, the central government changed the route alignment of the Atal Progress-Way. However, after the new route alignment, discontent began to surface among farmers as the new alignment would acquire more of their land. During this time, strong opposition was observed among farmers between Sabalgarh and Porsa, due to which former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan immediately halted the land acquisition process in April 2023.

Project comes to fruition after 3 years

Following this, the project remained in cold storage for 3 years, but it has now resurfaced. On the initiative of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has ordered the construction of the Atal Progress-Way, with a cost of ₹23,645 crore, to be carried out on the old route alignment.

Compensation double the collector's guideline will be provided

Currently, the National Highways Authority will provide compensation double the collector's guideline to farmers in exchange for their land. With the old route alignment, less land of farmers will be acquired. If the Atal Progress-Way is constructed on the old route alignment, only 488.01 hectares of land from 2089 farmers across 90 villages will be acquired.

Over 450 hectares of land saved

On the other hand, if the Atal Progress-Way were to be constructed on the new route alignment, 935.3 hectares of land from 14137 farmers across 96 villages would have been acquired. The difference is clear: constructing the Atal Progress-Way on the old route alignment will save over 450 hectares of land for more than 12,000 farmers, which will continue to be used for their agriculture throughout their lives.

Farmers will take to the streets again

Regarding the land acquisition for the Atal Progress-Way, Ashok Tiwari, the state president of the Madhya Pradesh Kisan Sabha, stated that the Chief Minister should immediately issue orders for farmers to receive four times the compensation for their land. Farmers will absolutely not give their land for this project at double the compensation. Protests have occurred before, and farmers will take to the streets again.

Entry into Madhya Pradesh will be from Sheopur

After 78 kilometers from Kota, the Progress-Way will enter the state from Sheopur. This highway will pass through 48 villages in Sheopur. Among these, 26 villages such as Chheetakhedi, Jalera, Juwad, Sirsod, and Jaini are located in or adjacent to the ravines. These areas currently lack proper access roads.

43 villages are connected to the Chambal ravine region

After Sheopur, the highway will connect through 90 villages in Morena, including Sabalgarh, Joura, Morena, Ambah, and Porsa. Out of these, 43 villages are connected to or located within the Chambal ravine region. Villages like Gadhula, Banthar, Attar, Garja, Dandoli, Goonj, Rached, Dhorra, among others, are still lagging in development due to the ravines.

After Raipur in Porsa, the Progress-Way will connect to Bhind

After Raipur in Porsa, Morena, the Progress-Way will connect to Bhind. It will pass through 25 villages here and will be connected to Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. Initially, the Progress-Way will pass through Barahi and Ranipura villages, which are adjacent to Bhind city. After this, the Progress-Way is to pass through 23 villages in the Ater region. 13 villages in Bhind are located in or adjacent to the ravines.

Covering 3 states, the Atal Progress-Way will connect to the Bundelkhand Expressway

The Atal Progress-Way will extend from Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This 404-kilometer-long Progress-Way will start from the border village of Simalya in Rajasthan and then pass through Sheopur, Morena, and Bhind to reach Etawah. There, from the village of Nanwa in Etawah, the Progress-Way will be connected to the Bundelkhand Expressway. Approximately 150 villages will be covered by the Progress-Way along the entire route, and out of these, 85 villages are located in or adjacent to the ravines known as the Chambal ravines.