In four years, 5,411.81 km of roads will be constructed or upgraded in 44 districts affected by Naxalite insurgency
In the years to come, Rs 11,725 crore will be spent to construct 5,411.81 kilometres of all-weather roads in the 35 districts affected by Naxalite-Maoist insurgency and the 9 districts adjoining such areas.
On Wednesday, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the project for improving road connectivity in rural areas.
However, the ‘Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Affected Areas’ is primarily being undertaken in order to improve the security in the districts that are worst-hit by the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency.
“The project will be implemented as a vertical under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to provide connectivity with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures in 44 worst-affected LWE districts and adjoining districts, critical from security and communication point of view. The roads will be operable throughout the year irrespective of all weather conditions,” read a statement released by the Ministry of Rural Development after the CCEA meeting.
PMGSY is as a centrally-sponsored scheme and was launched in 2000 to provide all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected habitations in the rural areas.
Although 35 of the districts affected by Naxalite-Maoist insurgency have been covered, they are just 90% of such classified districts of the nation.
An average of Rs 2.16 crore per kilometre will be spent for executing the project in four years’ timeframe, starting from the ongoing fiscal to financial year 2020.
According to the details shared, out of the 5,411.81 km, some roads will be constructed afresh, while others will be upgraded. Also, a total of 126 bridges up to a span of 100 meters, critical from security angle, and cross drainage works will be carried out as a part of the project.
As the project will be carried out under the PMGSY, the Union government will take care of 60% of the cost, whereas the balance will have to be borne by the respective state governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
However, the Union government will bear the majority of cost for the three Himalayan states including Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand as well as the eight North-Eastern states comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
For these states, 90% of the cost will be borne by the Centre and the rest 10% will have to be spent by the respective states.
“Ministry of Finance will have to allocate to Ministry of Rural Development Rs 7,034.72 crore for this project during the implementation period,” added the statement.
As per the road classifications, national and state highways have not been included, but those roads falling under the other district roads, village roads and major district roads have been included in the project.
Data shared by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways show that since January, a total of 4,148 kilometres of roads have been constructed in areas affected by Naxalite-Maoist insurgency.
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