NEW DELHI: The construction work on the Rs 5,763-crore eastern peripheral expressway has begun as the government has set a deadline of 400 days to complete the project, which will help in decongesting the traffic in the national capital.The commencement of work followed after Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari earlier this month set a deadline of 400 days to complete the project."We have commenced work on some of the six packages of the 135 km expressway. The land acquisition for the project under National Highway Act, 1956 is almost complete as 98.1 land for the project has been acquired," an NHAI official said.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has even transferred Rs 1,530 crore for land compensation, the official said adding that of this 1,335 crore has already been distributed among the people whose land were acquired.The project work has been divided into six packages - 21 km stretch in Sonepat-Baghpat, 24.5 km stretch in Baghpat-Ghaziabad, 24.5 km stretch in Ghaziabad-GB Nagar, 22 km stretch in GN Nagar, 21 km stretch in GN Nagar-Faridabad and 22 km stretch in Faridabad-Palwal.The project falls in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.Earlier this month Gadkari has said, "The government is committed to decongest Delhi. We have set an ambitious target. This is to complete the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway in 400 days."Earlier the deadline for the project was set as two-and-a-half years.The Prime Minister last month laid the foundation stone of three national highway projects - the Eastern Peripheral Highway, Western Peripheral Highway and 8 laning of the National Highway between Mukarba Chowk in Delhi and Panipat in Haryana.The projects, having a combined length of 341 km will be build at an estimated cost of Rs 10,166 crore and will run through Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.The Eastern Peripheral Expressway will be 135 km long and cost Rs 5,763 crore while the 136 km Western Peripheral Expressway will cost Rs 2,274 crore. The 8 laning of the third project will cost Rs 2,129 crore.