Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Report sought on developing 3,411 km of State Highways

HUBLI: Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi has said that the State Government has directed officials to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the development of 3,411 km of State Highways.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, he said the Government had identified 3,411 km of State Highways to be developed, keeping in mind the recommendations of the D.M. Nanjundappa Committee report on regional imbalances and the guidelines of the World Bank. The work would be taken up in phases, he said.

Mr. Udasi said 584 km of State Highways would be developed with World Bank funding of Rs. 1,200 crore. This would be implemented through the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (KSHIP) Phase 2.

He said 863 km of State Highways would be developed under assistance from the Asian Development Bank at a cost of Rs. 1,250 crore. The remaining 1,962 km would be developed by mobilising funds through various financial institutions, including HUDCO, he said.

The Minister said that under KSHIP Phase 1, development of 2,414 km of State Highways was proposed, of which 2,317 km was developed till March 31, 2008. For the remaining 97 km, Rs. 100 crore had been kept aside in the budget, he said.

Mr. Udasi said in the recent budget Rs. 325 crore had been allocated to Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), which would be used for the ongoing work and developing an additional 200 km of State Highways and construction of 340 bridges. Apart from them, two major bridges would be constructed across the Cauvery river near T. Narasipura and in the backwaters of the Sharavati river, he said.

The Minister said in the Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, Bellary and Gulbarga, 243.6 km of road would be developed under funding from World Bank while 473.59 km of road would be developed under assistance from the ADB. He said the Government had directed officials to prepare the Detailed Project Report for the development of the 171-km Shimoga-Tadas Road. Mr. Udasi said Rs. 250 crore had been allocated to the Chief Minister’s Rural Road Development Fund, under which it had been planned to take up repair and maintenance work of 36,327 km of district major roads. He said Rs. 200 crore had been allocated for road development based on the recommendations of the Nanjundappa committee.

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