Govt unveils Rs. 1 lakh-cr roads in NE

Accelerating the road building process in the north eastern region of the country, the transport ministry has decided to award road projects worth Rs. 1 lakh-cr during the next five years. The targeted road projects would be built by the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd ( NHIDCL), a nodal agency created for the construction of National Highways and other infrastructure projects in the North Eastern states and strategic areas, said official sources adding that NHIDCL is currently working to fast pace the construction of National Highways across the border belt of the country as NHICL has been entrusted with 109 projects in 13 states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, West Bengal, A&N Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand. The total length of the on-going projects is 7148 Km and they are at various stages of development. As a matter of fact, score of bridges have already been built on the river Brahmaputra, providing relief to a large number of people and also there are plans for making 1100 km all weather road at an investment of Rs 12,000-cr in Uttarakhand, of which about Rs 650-700-cr worth of work has already been awarded.