MoRTH approves ₹1.5 lakh-cr roads in Karnataka

The transport ministry has cleared 22 green express highways involving an investment of ₹1.5 lakh crore. The projects include a new alignment of the Pune-Bengaluru Express Highway, which will be completed in the next few years at a cost of ₹50,000 crore. Actually, the annual infrastructure plan for Karnataka which was ₹2,150 crore, has been increased to ₹3,990 crore. Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari, said that the ministry is building 22 green express highways including the Pune-Bengaluru project as a Green Express Highway and that his ministry sanctioned 2,300 km of new roads for which the DPR is ready. The bidding process would start shortly after getting clearance on the land acquisition and environment clearance. Construction of a ring road in Bengaluru has also been resolved with the Centre agreeing to the State's request to bear 80 percent of the land acquisition cost; but at the same time the ministry has exhorted the state to exempt taxes on steel and cement to be used for building the ring road, he added.