Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jalpaiguri and laid the foundation stone for the four laning of the Falakata – Salsalabari section of NH -31 D and inaugurated New High Court Bench there.

41.7 km long Falakata – Salsalabari stretch is a part of East-West corridor envisaged under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase II, and is a vital link for connectivity to North East. This project will be completed in 2.5 years on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) (Toll) mode of delivery. The project will reduce the distance from Salsalabari and Alipurduar to Siliguri by nearly 50 km.

The Circuit bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri will provide speedy justice to people of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in North Bengal. Residents of these four districts will now have to travel less than 100 km to access the bench instead of 600 km trip to Calcutta High Court.