The Defence Ministry has handed over a portion of land from Umshyrpi to Upper Shillong to pave way for the construction of a four-lane road which is part of the expansion of the Shillong-Tamabil highway.
The four-lane from Umshyrpi to 7th Mile in Upper Shillong would be constructed as part of the expansion of the Shillong-Tamabil road.
The requirement of land from the defence is 3.21 hectares for a stretch of 1.42 km, and 1.5 hectares from the Air Force for a stretch of 1.1 km road at Upper Shillong.
The Shillong-Tamabil project includes construction of a new bridge over the Umngot river at Dawki and the highway will link with Bangladesh.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) is implementing the Shillong-Tamabil project.
On Thursday, Meghalaya deputy chief minister in-charge PWD (roads), Prestone Tynsong informed that the said land has been officially handed over to the NHIDCL.
Tynsong informed that 50 per cent of the money for land compensation has been deposited and the district collector and NHIDCL are working out the matter.
He said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will compensate the Ministry of Defence if there are buildings on the way that have to be demolished for constructing the four-lane.
Funding is being routed through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at around Rs 1,200 crore for expanding the National Highway-40 from Shillong to Tamabil.
The rest of the stretch up to Tamabil will be double lane, and only the stretch from Umshyrpi to 7th Mile in Upper Shillong will be converted into four-lane.
At Dawki, a new bridge over the Umngot river will be built.