Cabinet clears road, rail, irrigation works in infra push | Mint

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved three major infrastructure and farm-linked projects worth over ₹4,800 crore

These include a six-lane Zirakpur bypass in Punjab-Haryana, rail track doubling in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and modernization of command area irrigation systems under an expanded Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

A key approval was the construction of a 19.2- km access-controlled Zirakpur Bypass at a cost of ₹1,878.31 crore to ease traffic congestion in the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula urban stretch. “The project is aimed at decongesting this heavily built-up tri-junction and improving connectivity between Patiala, Delhi, Mohali Aerocity and Himachal Pradesh,” said information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The bypass, to be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, will link NH-7 and NH-5 and is part of the broader ring road network planned under the PM Gati Shakti framework, the minister said.

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The Cabinet also cleared the doubling of the Tirupati–Pakala–Katpadi single railway line, covering 104 km across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, at a cost of ₹1,332 crore. Once completed, the project is expected to improve passenger and freight mobility, benefiting nearly 1.4 million people and 400 villages. It will also ease travel to religious and tourist hubs such as Tirumala, Sri Kalahasti, Kanipakam, and Chandragiri.

As per the minister, the rail project will also enable movement of an additional 4 million tonnes of freight annually, cut oil consumption by 40 million litres, and reduce carbon emissions by 200 million kg—equivalent to planting 10 million trees.

In the agriculture sector, the Cabinet also approved the modernization of Command Area Development and Water Management (M-CADWM) as a sub-scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) for the 2025–26 period with an outlay of ₹1,600 crore.

The scheme will fund pilot projects across various agro-climatic zones using challenge-mode funding to states, with the aim to eventually scale it into a national programme during the next Finance Commission cycle beginning April 2026.

Focused on modernizing canal-based irrigation networks, the scheme will provide underground pressurized pipelines for irrigation up to one hectare from established sources, backed by efficient water management systems.

The government also intends to transfer irrigation management to Water User Societies, which will be supported and linked to Farmer Producer Organisations and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies for at least five years.

The move is expected to boost water use efficiency, productivity and farmer incomes while drawing rural youth towards modern farming practices, the minister said.