MoRTH clears ₹2,000 cr roads in J&K, NE

The transport ministry has doubled the grant to the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) to ₹2,000 crore from ₹1000 crore earlier to speed up construction work of road and highways in the northern (Jammu and Kashmir) and eastern (north-east) regions of the country. In this connection, the minister recently revised the targets of road and highway construction and it was found that the two regions were lagging on this score. To speed up the work, NHIDCL‘s grant has been increased for the current financial year, official sources said, elaborating that the ministry attributes the slow progress of work to the bad terrain in the region as there are very difficult terrain to undertake construction work. Also, there is a lot of tension in the region in the case with Jammu and Kashmir. The additional amount would be used to build roads and bridges, national highways and also on the special accelerated road development program in the north-east.