Union Cabinet Approves High Court Bench for Ladakh and Major Infrastructure Projects

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in Ladakh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday.

Shah said the decision was taken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to Shah, the move will significantly improve access to justice for citizens living in remote areas of Ladakh by reducing the time required to avail themselves of legal services.

“The Union Cabinet, under the leadership of the PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, has decided to set up a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in Ladakh,” Shah said in a post on X.

He added that the government is committed to the “all-round development of Ladakh” and ensuring constitutional safeguards.

Cabinet approves Rs 13,041 crore rail, highway projects

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved four railway projects and a highway project worth a combined Rs 13,041 crore, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a Cabinet briefing.

Three of the railway projects involve adding new lines on sections of the Howrah-Chennai High Density Network, with the aim of expanding capacity for passenger and freight movement along the key east coast corridor.

“From Howrah to Chennai, we will ultimately have a complete quadrupled, four-line route. This will allow us to operate many more trains. It will also facilitate the movement of cargo and make maintenance easier,” Vaishnaw said.

The three projects are the fourth line between Kharagpur and Bhadrak (Ranital), the fourth line between Bhadrak and Haridaspur, and the third and fourth lines between Gummidipundi and Gudur.

The fourth railway project involves constructing the third and fourth lines on the 72-km Cuttack-Paradeep (Badabandha) section.

The four railway projects have a combined outlay of Rs 9,450 crore.

The Kharagpur-Bhadrak fourth line, covering 173 km, has been approved at a cost of Rs 3,352 crore. The 75-km Bhadrak-Haridaspur fourth line will cost Rs 1,583 crore, while the 90-km Gummidipundi-Gudur third and fourth lines have an outlay of Rs 2,229 crore.

The Cuttack-Paradeep project has been approved at a cost of Rs 2,286 crore.

Separately, the Cabinet approved a Rs 3,591-crore project to develop an 83-km four-lane brownfield highway corridor from Muzaffarpur through Sitamarhi to Sonbarsa, up to the Nepal border, under the hybrid annuity model.

“The first four projects are railway projects, while the fifth is a highway project,” Vaishnaw said.