Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: Modi Government has undertaken a massive road construction drive in Northeast, which includes 197 projects under the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), in addition to 608 roads and bridges being funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) from Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR).
This was stated here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in response to a question in Rajya Sabha.
In his reply, Dr Jitendra Singh stated that total length and total sanction cost of the projects under the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is 4320.95 kms and Rs. 37691.05 cr respectively.
Similarly, the Ministry of DoNER, he said, is providing funds for meeting gaps in infrastructure. An amount of Rs. 4113.31 cr was released for construction of roads and bridges under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) up to August 5, 2016.
Under the North East State Roads Investment Project, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that a total 433.40 kms road has been undertaken for upgradation or construction in the Northeast at a total cost of Rs.1355.83 cr. Under North East Road Sector Development Scheme, four State-neglected road projects were taken up by Union Ministry of DoNER for upgradation, he added.
In a major thrust to improve connectivity, Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to 20 major Railway projects consisting of 13 new lines, 2 gauge conversions and 5 doublings with aggregate length 2624 kms at a cost of Rs. 5203 cr having been taken up for construction in North-Eastern region. An expenditure of Rs. 21336 cr was incurred on these projects up to March 2016. In addition, he stated, an outlay of Rs. 5040 cr has been provided for 2016-17 for these projects.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) led by its President Harshavardhan Neotia and Secretary General Dr A. Didar Singh, who called on Dr Jitendra Singh today, were also advised by him to come forward and participate in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode collaboration with the Union Ministry of DoNER to augment pace and scale of various developmental projects in Northeast.
The FICCI leaders assured Dr Jitendra Singh of complete cooperation on their behalf and said that they would mobilize all the resources to supplement the initiatives undertaken under the dynamic leadership of Union DoNER Minister.
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