Southern States - Tamil Nadu

States delaying using funds for rural roads

By Our Staff Reporter

KANCHEEPURAM JUNE 21. The Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, B. C. Khanduri, today said State Governments were delaying the utilisation of funds allotted by the Centre for laying roads in villages under the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana (PM's Rural Roads Scheme). At the same time, he pointed out, the Centre had taken steps to ensure that the allocated funds were not misused or diverted. Under the rural roads scheme, Rs 2,500 crores was being allotted annually to the State Governments to ensure that all villages had proper road connectivity.

The Centre was planning another scheme to fund under which all villages with a population of more than 1,000 would be fully covered with roads. Once this was done, villages with a population of over 500 would be provided with proper roads.

Mr. Khanduri said 32.5 lakh km of State roads were in a bad state for the lack of proper maintenance and paucity of funds. Hence the Central funding for improvement of roads.

A World Bank survey revealed that nearly Rs 9,000 crores could be saved every year by developing of national highways and interlinking major cities.

The golden quadrilateral project, connecting the four metros and linking the four corners of the country, was executed keeping this fact in mind.

About 58,000 km of roads in the country came under National Highways and 15,000 km came under the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP).

Mr. Khanduri was speaking at Kancheepuram after participating in a `bhoomi pooja' for four-laning of NH 4 in the Poonamallee-Kancheepuram-Wallajahpet sector. Four-laning of this 90-km stretch is expected to cost around Rs 290 crores.

The Chengalpattu MP, A K Moorthy, and the BJP district secretary, K. T. Raghavan, protested the absence of senior officials of the district administration, including the Collector and the Superintendent of Police. Intervening, Nagarajan, Highways Secretary, said he was representing the State Government. Deepak Das Gupta, Chairman, NHAI, participated.

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