The Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for declaration of about 7,200 km of State Roads as new National Highways (NHs), with an expectation of higher fund allocations over the next few years. The decision comes days before the general elections are announced.
The release said, “Keeping in view the estimated allocations likely to be made available for development of non-National Highways Development Project NHs based on the previous years’` trends, it is anticipated that there would be adequate funds available for taking up improvement works on these new NHs”.
Incidentally, the plan funding for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2013-14 has been lowered to ₹30,479 crore at the revised estimates level against an originally budgeted amount of ₹37,500 crore. “These stretches are expected to be developed over the next five-six years. Moreover, many of these stretches include some that we have already developed under special accelerated road development programme – North East,” explained a Ministry official.