Having delivered on its five election guarantees in Karnataka, the Congress government in the state has now turned its focus to rebuilding and upgrading travel infrastructure by developing roads totaling 8,260km under the new ‘Pragati Patha’ and ‘Kalyana Patha’ schemes.
The initial plan, according to the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, is to develop approximately 38-km stretches connecting rural and urban Karnataka at Rs 65 lakh per km. The road development is expected across all 224 Assembly constituencies, with special focus on around 40.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge has emphasized that roads are the corridors of economic progress and told News18 that the Congress government is focused on connectivity as it will further build the socio-economic structure of the state, bringing cities closer and developing faster.
“The idea is to bring village to village, hamlet to village, village to national highway connectivity along with habitation. There is a need to develop Karnataka at micro and macro levels. And as a government, we are committed to it. Good roads and connectivity lead to improvement in the economic condition of people,” he said.
A total of around 7,110km is expected to be developed across the state under the Pragati Patha Scheme, which will cover 189 Assembly constituencies. The project is expected to cost the RDPR Department Rs 5,190 crore. There are plans to borrow Rs 3,633 crore and the rest will be borne by the department.
Under the Kalyana Patha Scheme, around 40 Assembly constituencies in the Kalyana Karnataka region, which is known to be economically backward, will be developed at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.
“Around 37km to 40km in every constituency will be built and maintained under this project,” Kharge said, adding that of the Rs 1,000 crore allocated, Rs 92 crore would be used for the maintenance of the new roads and another Rs 138 crore will be utilised for repair and re-asphalting after a period of five years.
Comments
0 comment