News Brief
Centre Plans Rs 10 Lakh Crore Highway Projects In Next Two Years, Special Focus On Northeast And Border Areas
A national highway. (Representational Image).
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced plans for a Rs 10 lakh crore investment in national highways over the next two years, with a special push for the Northeast, where roads will match US standards.
In an interview with news agency PTI, Gadkari said the government aims to overhaul India’s infrastructure to global benchmarks within the next two years.
"We plan to take up projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore in the next two years to strengthen highways across the country, with special emphasis on enhancing infrastructure in the Northeast and the border areas. In the coming two years, highways in the Northeast will be on a par with US roads," Gadkari was quoted as saying by PTI.
He stressed the pressing need for improved road infrastructure in the Northeast due to its challenging geography and proximity to borders.
"It is our endeavour to transform the country's infrastructure drastically so that it matches with the best in the world," he said.
He added that works are underway in all states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Delhi.
A total of 784 highway projects covering 21,355 km are going to be implemented in eastern India, with an estimated cost of Rs 3.73 lakh crore, Gadkari said.
"We currently have projects worth Rs 57,696 crore in Assam, and about Rs 90,000 crore in Bihar. We're also undertaking projects worth over Rs 42,000 crore in West Bengal, about Rs 53,000 crore in Jharkhand, and around Rs 58,000 crore in Odisha," Gadkari said.
Gadkari said that projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore are underway in the Northeast, except Assam, this year.
He said that a mass rapid transport pilot project is underway in Nagpur at a cost of Rs 170 crore.
"The project involves a 135-seater bus that will run on non-polluting energy sources and is expected to be highly cost-effective. If successful, it will be replicated on important routes across the country, including the Delhi-Jaipur stretch, under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model," he said.
India’s National Highway network grew from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,204 km at present, with a significant improvement in standards, Gadkari stated.
Highways under two lanes now form just 9 per cent of the network—down from 30 per cent, he said.
