The Union government has cleared a Rs 2,077.18 crore project to four-lane a 31.02-km stretch of National Highway 327 in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on X. The approved stretch runs from Bagdogra through Panitanki and Kharibari to Galgalia, cutting through the Siliguri Corridor, the narrow strip of land often called India's "Chicken's Neck" that links the country's mainland to its entire Northeast region.&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">📢West Bengal🛣️ In West Bengal, we have approved ₹2,077.18 crore for the 4️⃣-laning of the 31.02-km Bagdogra–Panitanki–Kharibari–Galgalia section of NH-327 in Darjeeling district. The project will include the construction of 3️⃣ major bridges, 1️⃣ Road Over Bridge (ROB), 5️⃣…&mdash; Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) <a href="https://x.com/nitin_gadkari/status/2095400632681439404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;<h2>What the Project Includes</h2>The four-laning work will come with three major bridges, one road-over-bridge, and five elephant underpasses built along the route, along with service roads on both sides of the highway. The elephant underpasses are aimed at reducing human-animal conflict and vehicle collisions in a region where wild elephant movement is common near the forested belts around Siliguri.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/west-bengal-rolls-out-digital-spot-fines-200-for-littering-banned-plastic-public-urination-1788250267843">West Bengal rolls out digital spot fines; ₹200 for littering, banned plastic, public urination</a><h2>Why the Corridor Matters</h2>The Siliguri Corridor narrows to as little as 20-22 km at some points, squeezed between the international borders of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It is the only land route connecting Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to the rest of India, which makes any infrastructure work here carry weight well beyond local traffic concerns.&nbsp;Gadkari said the project would strengthen connectivity to Northeast India and improve access toward Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, positioning it as both a regional development project and a piece of a longer-term push to build up alternate and redundant connectivity around the corridor.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/farakka-flow-fight-bengal-pushes-back-as-india-bangladesh-water-treaty-deadline-looms-1788183893041">West Bengal urges Centre to safeguard state's rivers, ports before Ganga-Padma Treaty renewal</a><h2>Local Impact</h2>Officials expect the widened highway to ease congestion in Bagdogra, Naxalbari, Kharibari and Panitanki, all towns that currently see heavy traffic bottlenecks. The project is also expected to improve access to Bagdogra Airport, a key aviation hub for the region that also has military significance.&nbsp;For the local economy, faster road access is expected to help move tea, horticultural and other agricultural produce from North Bengal's farms to larger markets more quickly, cutting down transit time for perishable goods.&nbsp;The project adds to a series of connectivity upgrades the Centre has undertaken in and around the Siliguri Corridor in recent years, part of a broader strategy to reduce the region's dependence on a single, narrow land link to the rest of India. &nbsp;

The Centre has approved ₹2,077 crore to convert NH-327 into a four-lane highway in the strategic Siliguri corridor. 

The Union government has cleared a Rs 2,077.18 crore project to four-lane a 31.02-km stretch of National Highway 327 in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on X. The approved stretch runs from Bagdogra through Panitanki and Kharibari to Galgalia, cutting through the Siliguri Corridor, the narrow strip of land often called India's "Chicken's Neck" that links the country's mainland to its entire Northeast region.

The Centre has approved ₹2,077 crore to convert NH-327 into a four-lane highway in the strategic Siliguri corridor.&nbsp;

Centre approves Rs 2,077 crore for four-laning of NH-327 through strategic Siliguri corridor

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Centre approves Rs 2,077 crore for four-laning of NH-327 through strategic Siliguri corridor