Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that today is a historic day for the State as it has received many road projects. “Development of Jharkhand will be accelerated by the construction of better roads. In Jharkhand, the transport of mineral resources is more by roads. Therefore, it is necessary to have quality roads here,” he said through video conferencing while inauguration and foundation stone laying programme of 21 road projects totaling 539 km costing Rs 3550 crore in the State.
The CM said that for the development of roads in the State by the Central Government, Rs 205 crores in the financial year 2017-18, Rs. 169 crores in 2018-19, about Rs. 500 crores in 2019-20 and Rs. 675 crores in the financial year 2020-21 were allocated. “Today, we are continuously moving in the direction of road construction work. It is the effort of the State government to send DPR of maximum number of road projects to the Central government. State government is aware of and acquisition and forest clearance for construction of roads. Our government is working with commitment to coordinate with NHAI in road construction work and move ahead,” he said.
The CM urged the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister to expedite the construction work of Raipur-Dhanbad, Sambalpur-Ranchi, Varanasi-Ranchi, Ranchi-Paradip and Bakhtiarpur-Ormanjhi Economic Corridors under the Bharatmala Project and bridge construction work on the Ganges River at Sahibganj. He also demanded to connect Bengal, Odisha and UP (Benaras) with Jharkhand from the High Speed Corridor. He said that with the construction of a high speed corridor, the State will be developed as an industry hub. Soren said that the State Government has given the construction work of many important roads of Jharkhand to NHAI. Therefore, special attention should be paid to backward states like Jharkhand in road construction work.
In his address, the CM said that along with other roads along the Elephant Corridor and newly constructed roads, plantation work should be done definitely. He said that several Elephant Corridors have been identified in the State. Taking special care of the identified Elephant Corridor, one needs to move ahead in road construction work. He also talked about developing an underpass system in road construction work.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the road construction works in Jharkhand will be done as per the wishes of the State government. He said that the Economic Corridor being constructed under the Bharatmala Yojana will be completed by the next financial year. He said that in the next 3 years, one lakh crore rupees will be spent on road construction in Jharkhand. Gadkari urged the Chief Minister that the process of land acquisition and forest proposal should be completed expeditiously.
The Union Minister said that the State government should prepare a DPR of all roads as soon as possible and send it to the Central government so that road construction works can be expedited. Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda also expressed his views through video conferencing.
Five road projects built under the supervision of NHAI in Jharkhand, Mahulia-Bahragoda-Jharkhand / Widening of W Bengal Border, Barhi-Hazaribagh Division, Kachhri Chowk to Bijupada section, Bijupada to Kudu section, Piska More to Palma section with a total length of 217 km and costing Rs.2744 crores and 2 projects at a cost of Rs 52 crores of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Strengthening of road projects was inaugurated and the foundation stone was laid for 14 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 754 crore.
