N-E roads to get Rs 11000-cr facelift
A STAFF REPORTER Will it be a thing of the past?
Guwahati, April 17: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 11,000 crore for development
of road network in the Northeast.
A senior ministry official said road development programmes of this magnitude
have never been undertaken earlier.
The ministry of shipping, road transport and highways has undertaken the
project.
The projects are already under way in the Northeast, the official said.
The ministry is aiming at improving road connectivity of the region with the
rest of the country and intra-region connectivity as well, he added.
Out of 6,880 km of national highways, 3,725 km are not even two-lane
highways, as is the case with roads connecting state capitals like Agartala,
Aizawl and Gangtok.
The case is similar in 62 district headquarters of the region. The border
areas in the Northeast also lack proper road connectivity. The network of roads
connecting the region with the neighbouring countries is also inadequate.
The National Highways Development Programme-II, the National Highways
Development Programme III B and the Special Accelerated Road Development
Programme for North Eastern Region are also under way.
While the National Highways Development Programme-II aims at improving roads
connecting the region with the rest of the country through the four-lane
East-West corridor, the National Highways Development Programme III B aims at
connecting the state capitals through 4-lane highways.
The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North Eastern
Region aims at enhancing road connectivity between state capitals, district
headquarters and improve other important roads in the region.
This programme also includes the repairing of 1,207 km of roads that are of
strategic importance in the border areas.
The 678-km stretch of the East-West corridor from Srirampur to Silchar via
Bijni, Nalbari, Guwahati, Sonapur, Nagaon, Doboka, Lumding and Maibong is being
made into a four-lane highway at an investment of nearly Rs 6,000 crore.
Fourteen district headquarters, including Barpeta, Dhubri, Goalpara,
Golaghat, and Diphu in Assam will be connected by two-lane roads.
The ministry said delays in land acquisition, tree-felling and getting
wildlife clearances were posing problems in implementation of road programmes
in the region.
Insurgency is a major factor creating hurdles in the programmes, as
contractors from outside the region are reluctant to work here.
Local contractors lack the resources and experience to handle such projects,
the official said.
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