PM Modi to perform Bhumi Pujan for Kaziranga Elevated Corridor in Assam: All you need to know about India’s most wildlife-friendly highway project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Assam on Saturday, 17th January, for a two-day tour of the state, marking his second visit in less than a month. The visit assumes importance not only because of the cultural aspect but also because of a developmental announcement that will change and shape the connectivity and wildlife protection system in Assam. The Prime Minister’s visit is a mix of cultural festivity, development schemes, and connectivity initiatives to make Assam a stronger contributor to the growth saga in the Northeast region. During this visit, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, which is one of the most environmentally sensitive road projects in India to date. The Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has also shared a post on his X account, welcoming PM Modi. He wrote, “Assam is all set to welcome Adarniya Shri Narendra Modi ji to Guwahati tomorrow.” Assam is all set to welcome Adarniya Shri @narendramodi ji tomorrow to Guwahati.On 18th Jan, he will lay the foundation stone of the ambitious Kaziranga Elevated Corridor which will reduce travel time between Guwahati and Jorhat & save precious animal lives.#PMModiInAssam pic.twitter.com/NkDB0u82Ka— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 16, 2026 The Kaziranga Elevated Corridor project The Kaziranga Elevated Corridor is a smart highway project on NH-715 (Old NH-37) that runs through the southern border of the Kaziranga National Park. It will allow vehicles to cross the park area without the risk of hitting wild animals. At present, there is a speed limit on that section of the highway, as animals often enter the highway, and many of them get hit by vehicles. This risk increases during the monsoons, as the animals leave the low-lying areas in Kaziranga and move towards the Karbi hills, crossing the highway. There are nine identified corridors used by the animals, and the elevated corridor will cover them all. As a result of the speed limit, it takes almost one and a half hours to cross the around 30 km section of the road. When the elevated corridor is built, cars and trucks will speed along as rhinos, elephants, deer, and many more animals move freely underneath. The elevated corridor is part of the ongoing four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 to a four-way freeway. While the rest of the road has already been widened to four lanes, the Kaziranga section is still a two-lane highway, as it has not been widened, creating a bottleneck. PM Modi to lay foundation of Rs 6,000 crore Kaziranga elevated corridor project. pic.twitter.com/yJDP3hHxON— Indian Infra Report (@Indianinfoguide) January 4, 2026 The entire corridor has an extent of approximately 85.7 km. Of this, 34.5 km will be the elevated corridor through the park. Apart from this, there will be over 30 km of widening of the existing route from two to four lanes. The project will also include 1 major bridge and 5 flyovers. In addition, there are proposals for 21 km of greenfield route bypasses of major towns such as Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat. However, locals are opposed to the bypasses, as both the towns developed around the highway, as the majority of economic activities in Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat revolve around buses and other vehicles halting there for food. The project covers Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, and Golaghat districts, and the road connects Guwahati to the upper Assam areas of Jorhat, Dibrugarh, and Tinsukia. Every day, thousands of vehicles use this route, causing traffic congestion and, unfortunately, more than 30 animal casualties due to accidents annually. This corridor fixes that by keeping animals safe, especially during the floods when they move to the hills. Kaziranga is home to India’s biggest rhino population and tons of other wildlife. The elevated design covers 9 key animal corridors for year-round safe passage. It cuts human-animal clashes, speeds up travel times between cities, boosts road safety, and handles more passengers and goods. The total cost of the 85.675 km long Kalibor-Numaligarh project is ₹6,957 crore, which includes the elevated corridor section. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs greenlit it back in 2022, and gave the final approval in October last year. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is handling it via EPC mode. They’ve got nods from the Wildlife Institute of India and the National Board for Wildlife. Eco-rules are strict, no work in peak floods, mandatory noise and pollution checks, and constant animal monitoring to keep disturbance low. After completion of the elevated corridor, travel time on the route will come down significantly. At present, it takes 150 minutes to travel between Kalibor and Numaligarh, which will be reduced to just 50 minutes. The highway will also provide seamless access to 10 nodes under the PM Gati Shakti master plan. Beyond enhancing trade and transit, the project will