Pillars of neglect: How Kiratpur-Manali highway, which cost Rs 3,400 crore, has lost space to encroachment

KULLU: A surge in illegal construction along the newly completed Kiratpur-Manali highway in Himachal Pradesh has triggered safety concerns and legal action, with authorities identifying at least 91 unauthorised structures on the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) land in just one district.
Illegal strurctures — ranging from permanent hotels and liquor shops to makeshift roadside stalls — has sprung up along the highway in Bilaspur district, some within just one metre of the road edge. Officials warn the state that the proximity poses a significant danger to motorists and pedestrians, creating accident-prone black spots along the busy mountain route.
The Himachal Pradesh high court last month criticised the failure of the state to protect the highway's right of way (ROW) during a hearing on a 2023 public-interest petition. The court observed that the encroachment "defeated the entire purpose" of the four-lane project and ordered the Bilaspur deputy commissioner to file a status report. It also directed him that no water or electricity connections be granted to illegal structures.
The project's mismanagement, according to petitioner Madan Sharma of the Fourlane Visthapit and Prabhavit Samiti (FVPS) — a group representing residents displaced by the highway — stems from the NHAI's failure to demarcate its land clearly. "The illegal structures identified in Bilaspur are just the tip of the iceberg," Sharma said. "Encroachment has spread along the entire Kiratpur-Manali stretch over the past two years. This is because the NHAI never installed reinforced concrete boundary pillars with right-of-way serial numbers and GPS (global positioning system) coordinates, as mandated under the project's original conditions."
Sharma said the absence of clear markers had allowed squatters to occupy highway land with impunity. The pillars were a requirement not only for demarcation, but also for determining compensation for landowners affected by the highway's construction, which began in 2013. So far, only a few stretches have the required RCC pillars, and many of those lack GPS-coded ROW numbers, Sharma added.
The Kiratpur-Nerchowk section — inaugurated formally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 11 — was opened to traffic in Aug 2023. The 114-km segment built for ₹3,400 crore includes five tunnels and 37 bridges.
However, other parts of the highway, particularly between Mandi and Takoli, remain incomplete. As public pressure builds and safety risks mount, the future of the multibillion-rupee highway project may now depend on whether authorities can enforce existing rules before more of the corridor is overtaken by unregulated development.
NHAI asked to install boundary pillars
In a related development, the conservator of forests in the Bilaspur forest circle has written to the NHAI urging it to install the RCC boundary markers quickly and at its own expense. In the April 22 letter, the officer stressed that the task was urgent and must be verified by the divisional forest officer after completion.
No NOC without NHAI nod
Meanwhile, local authorities in Bilaspur have been instructed not to issue no-objection certificates (NOCs) for power and water connections without NHAI clearance. The state’s town and country planning department has also warned 18 gram panchayats across the Ghumarwin, Naina Devi, Jhandutta, and Bilaspur Sadar subdivisions against approving any infrastructure that lacks official demarcation.