Some roads may become national highways

By Our Special Correspondent

AMBALA, JAN. 2. The Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) B.C. Khanduri, today held out an assurance that demands for conversion of some major State roads into national highways would be sympathetically considered to strengthen the network of roads in the State.

The Minister was responding to a demand made by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Om Prakash Chautala, at a public meeting, which he addressed here after dedicating to the nation a 900-metre-long elevated highway constructed on National Highway No. One in front of the Ambala Cantt. Railway Station. The elevated highway, which cost Rs. 20 crores, has been built as part of a World Bank-aided project aimed at strengthening and four-laning the National Highway.

The Union Minister reiterated that the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had been emphasizing the development of highways and rural roads for which a comprehensive plan had been prepared. Mr. Vajpayee had announced on December 25 last a Rs. 60,000 crore-plan for development of rural roads in the country within a stipulated period of 10 years.

Fifty per cent of the cess being collected from petrol and diesel would be spent on development of rural roads as the system of collection and utilization of cess had also been streamlined. About Rs. 5,800 crores were collected as cess during this year. Rs. 13.4 crores were given to Haryana for the development of State and district roads. He said that 12.5 per cent of the cess realised was being even shared with the railways to enable it to take up its projects such as railway crossings.

He recalled that the Prime Minister had drawn a golden quadrangle road plan for the nation under which a 5,952 km-long four or six- lane road would be laid between Delhi and Mumbai at a cost of Rs. 22,000 crores within a period of three years. Also, a 7,300 km- long four-laned road was being laid between east and west and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari at a cost of Rs. 27,000 crores. This project would be completed by 2007, he added.

While assuring assistance of the Central Government for development of roads in Haryana, he disclosed that Rs. 62 crores had already been sanctioned for strengthening of national highways in the State. About Rs. 81 crores had been given to the State out of the foreign aid for development of roads.

Mr. Chautala expressed his gratitude to the Union Minister for sanctioning a Rs. 300 crore elevated highway for Panipat, which he said, would be seven kms. long and become Asia's biggest such bridge to ease congestion of traffic in the city.

While drawing attention towards the massive traffic that passes through various major roads of Haryana because of its proximity to the National Capital, he urged that some small patches of roads and a long road be also converted as national highway in the larger interest of the nation.

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Section  : Other States
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