New Delhi, Jun 7 (KNN)  In order to provide a boost to industrial development in the densely populated states of northern India, the Prime Minister has approved the commencement of preparatory work on creating an Amritsar – Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor.

The Amritsar - Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor will cover the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, according to an official notification.

The stretch is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, housing about 40 per cent of the country’s population.   The region needs a major push for industrialization and job-creation and the Amritsar - Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor will act as a catalyst for growth.

The corridor will cover the cities of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Saharanpur, Delhi, Roorkee, Moradabad, Bareilly, Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata.

The Amritsar - Kolkata Industrial Corridor is patterned on the lines of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

DMIC uses the western dedicated freight corridor as the backbone and is one of the most significant developments taking place in the sphere of industrialization.  It receives financial support from the Japanese Government and is expected to attract large investments leading to rapid industrial growth in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra through the development of new cities, industrial zones, and world-class infrastructure.

In a similar manner, the Amritsar - Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor will use the eastern dedicated freight corridor (DFC) as the backbone. The eastern DFC extends from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni near Kolkata.  

Therefore, the Amritsar - Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor will be structured around the eastern DFC and also the highway system that exists on this route. It will also leverage the Inland Waterway System being developed along National Waterway - 1 which extends from Allahabad to Haldia.

In order to do the preparatory work for setting up of the Amritsar - Delhi - Kolkata Industrial Corridor, the Prime Minister has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group including Secretary, DIPP Chairman, Secretary, DEA Member, Chairman, and Railway Board Member.

The Inter Ministerial Group will examine the feasibility of setting up the corridor along with the structural and financing arrangements that would be required to operationalise it at the earliest. The IMG will give its report within a month.  (KNN)