Overview
- The state government, which cleared the handover Tuesday, said NHAI and NHIDCL can restart stalled works after nearly a year of delay.
- Under the order, NHAI takes NH-31, NH-33 and NH-312, while NHIDCL gets the Sevok–Coronation Bridge stretch, Hasimara–Jaigaon and the Changrabandha corridor.
- Officials and security experts say the move will speed road widening and repairs, strengthen links to Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and improve access across the Darjeeling hills, the Dooars and North Bengal.
- Separately, the Adhikari government has begun transferring 120 acres in the corridor to the Centre, and the Centre has not disclosed the land’s specific use.
- Reporting points to a broader rail push that would expand two tracks to six and add a 40 km underground section between Teen Mile Haat and Rangapani to protect supply lines through a strip only 20–22 km wide at points.