The Hindu : Karnataka News : Rs. 2 crore a km to spruce up roads

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Saturday, Dec 13, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Rs. 2 crore a km to spruce up roads

Special Correspondent

The plan, envisaged for the next five years, will cost Rs. 75,000 crore
The plan will be finalised in two months

CHICKBALLAPUR: Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi on Friday said that the State Government was drawing up a massive plan to create quality roads all over the State at a cost of Rs. 75,000 crore.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Udasi said that during the next five years, the State Government would spend Rs. 15,000 crore annually towards road development. The plan would be finalised in two months and the vision document was being prepared.

Asked how the State would mobilise the necessary resources, the Minister said that the Government was yet to decide whether to go for external borrowing or take up the project on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.

Mr. Udasi said that in view of a steep increase in the number of vehicles as well as their carriage capacity, the Government was going to first change the design of 345 km of road in various parts of the State.

The Government would shortly invite tenders for the project at a cost of Rs. 700 crore under the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (K-SHIP). Around Rs. 2 crore would be spent on each km of road, which would be of high quality, he said.

There are 95 lakh vehicles in the State today as against 24 lakh in 1995. Several vehicles with carriage capacity of 50 tonnes have hit the roads in recent years. This called for the need to develop quality roads in accordance with changing requirements, the Minister said.

Requests for grant

Mr. Udasi said the Union Government had recently announced that it would provide special grants to the States to identify accident zones and take up measures to prevent road accidents.

He instructed the Public Works Department (PWD) officials from Chickballapur district to identify such places in the district, and send him a proposal for release of grants.

Chickballapur MLA K.P. Bache Gowda submitted a memorandum to the Minister, listing the various works the PWD had taken up in Chickballapur town, the headquarters of the youngest district in the State.

Chickballapur Deputy Commissioner Anwar Pasha and senior officials of the PWD were present.

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