Dibrugarh: The National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has clarified that the proposed Brahmaputra Express Highway is not part of its mandate, casting fresh uncertainty over a project that was announced nearly a decade ago.
The clarification came in response to a representation submitted by Parag Dutta, a resident of Udaypur in Assam’s Dibrugarh district, who had sought an update from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the status of the project.
Dutta wrote to the PMO on June 26, 2026, recalling that the preliminary survey for the Brahmaputra Express Highway was inaugurated by then Assam Chief Minister and current Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the DTP dyke in Dibrugarh on January 24, 2017.
The proposed highway was planned to run along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri, with the stated objectives of improving connectivity, promoting tourism and addressing riverbank erosion.
In his representation, Dutta noted that more than nine years had passed since the survey was launched, but there had been no visible progress on the project. He sought clarification on whether the proposal was still under consideration or had been abandoned. He also pointed out that several other infrastructure projects announced around the same time, including the proposed underwater road-cum-rail tunnel between Gohpur and Numaligarh, had moved forward, while there had been no official update on the express highway.
The PMO registered the representation on July 3, 2026, and forwarded it through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
In its reply dated July 31, 2026, NHIDCL’s Regional Office in Guwahati stated that it had examined the grievance and clarified that the Brahmaputra Express Highway “is not envisaged” under the corporation’s mandate.
The response, signed by General Manager Binayak Kumar, did not indicate whether the project had been formally shelved, renamed or merged with any other infrastructure initiative.
The clarification has reinforced long-standing doubts among residents of Upper Assam over the future of the project, which was announced with much publicity in 2017 but has seen no visible progress beyond the preliminary survey stage.