The Hindu : Rs. 700-cr. plan to develop highways

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Rs. 700-cr. plan to develop highways

By Our Staff Correspondent

GULBARGA OCT. 22. The Government has prepared a Rs. 700-crore action plan to develop 4,000 km. of State highways.

Disclosing this to presspersons here today, the Public Works Minister, Dharam Singh, said some of the highways being maintained by private contractors since last year had been included in the action plan. Damaged stretches on highways that had been handed over to contractors for maintenance had been developed on the basis of California Base Ratio (CBR), but parts of roads, which required additional strengthening, had been left out.

On the lack of maintenance of roads that were being upgraded under a project funded by the World Bank, Mr. Singh said that it was true that these roads were in bad shape. The Government held a meeting with the contractors in Bangalore on October 17, and they agreed to repair the roads till they were developed under the World Bank-assisted programme.

Mr. Singh said work on Jewargi-Bhimarayanagudi Road under the programme was in progress, and it would be completed by December. The stretch between Bhimarayanagudi and Hattigudur would be developed by next June. The Government had advanced the deadlines for upgrading Gulbarga-Humnabad Road under the programme. The work would begin after the completion of the Jewargi-Hattigudur Road project. The work on Jewargi-Gulbarga Road would be taken up later.

Earlier, Mr. Singh held a meeting with the contractors executing various road and bridge projects with assistance from Nabard in the district. He expressed displeasure over the delay in the completion of the projects. The Deputy Commissioner, M. Lakshminarayan, the Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat President, Amatappa Kandakur, and senior officials of the department, including the Superintending Engineer, Nataraj, participated in the meeting.

Mr. Singh said that he had warned the contractors of action if they did not complete the projects on time. Nearly 100 road and bridge projects were being implemented in the district at a cost Rs. 50 crore under RIDF V, VI, and VII schemes. Of the 280.14 km. roads taken up for development under the RIDF scheme, work on 128 km. had been completed. He directed the Superintending Engineer to inspect the work and submit a report.

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