BANGALORE: Even though construction and maintenance of roads at the taluk-level have received impetus through increased State funding, the headquarters of 53 taluks are still not connected by good roads.

The headquarters of these taluks are not linked to National Highways or roads constructed by Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited, or those under the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) of the Public Works Department (PWD). The State has 177 taluks.

For instance, of 11 taluks in Kolar district, the headquarters of seven taluks — Bangarpet, Chintamani, Gudibande, Gauribidanur, Siddlaghatta, Srinivaspura and Malur — are not connected by good roads.

The headquarters of five taluks in Gulbarga, four in Bijapur, three each in Tumkur, Belgaum and Bidar, and two each in Bangalore Rural, Hassan and Kodagu districts are deprived of them.

The State has about 7,000 km of roads of high quality, PWD officials told The Hindu .

The taluks that do not have quality roads are: Afzalpur, Aland, Alur, Anekal, Arkalgud, Aurad, Bailahongal, Bangarpet, Basavakalyan, Basavanabagewadi, Belthangady, Bhalki, Byadagi, Chincholi, Chintamani, Chitapur, Devadurga, Gouribidanur, Gudibande, Hadagali, Hangal, Hirekrur, Hosadurga, Hosanagara, Indi, Jagalur, K.R. Pet, Koratagere, Kundgol, Madhugiri, Magadi, Malur, Molakalmuru, Muddehihal, Mudigere, Mundargi, Mundugod, Narasimharaja, Pavagada, Ramdurg, Raibagh, Sandur, Savanur, Sedam, Shikaripura, Shrirahatti, Siddlaghatta, Somavarpet, Soraba, Soundatti, Srinivaspura, Virajpet and Yelburga.

Major constraint

Entrepreneurs consider lack of goods roads a major constraint to growth of business in small towns. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in his "Mission for Karnataka's Prosperity", stressed the need for connecting smaller towns to tier-two cities for achieving a higher economic growth rate.

KSHIP- I, which commenced in 2001 following the grant of a World Bank loan, will be completed in June 2007, six months behind schedule.

The project was taken up for improvement of 2,381 km of State roads at a cost of Rs. 2,030 crore.

About 75 per cent of work on the project has been completed.

The Cabinet has given "in principle" clearance for KSHIP-II, and roads will be developed in 53 taluk headquarters under the project.

A World Bank loan of Rs. 3,000 crore will be obtained for the five-year project, which will be implemented from June 2007, officials said.

The Government has directed PWD officials to conduct three levels of preparatory studies to identify roads for upgrading. G.S. Tallur, former PWD Secretary and Adviser, Institutional Development Strategy Cell, PWD, has conducted a "strategic option study" and identified the taluk headquarters that are deprived of good roads.

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