Rural Development Minister Badri Narayan Patra on Monday informed the State Assembly that plans have been made to develop 2,185 km State Highway roads into two-lane roads at an expenditure of Rs3,000 crore in the first phase under the State Highway Development Project.
Replying to a question of member Ranendra Pratap Swain, the Minister said the construction works for the roads was started in 2013-14 and are targeted to be completed by 2016-17.
The Minister said a proposal has been sent to the Centre to give National Highway status to five State Highways. They are 104-km Phulunakhara-Charichhak-Gop-Konark SH, 96-km Kuakhia-Jajpur-Aradi-Bhadrak SH, Madhapur to Kerada via Sarangada-Baliguea-Tumudibandha-Durgapanga-Muniguda-Komtalapeta-Rayagada SH, 277.5-km Palasa-Paralakhemundi-Munigua-Bhawanipatna-Rajkharia Road and Sathipur to Jajpur SH.
The Minister said there is no proposal to take up NH work on PPP mode through the Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR). However, he said there is a proposal to develop the road between Kuradhamal (NH-5) in Khordha district and Baula (NH-42) in Cuttack district into a four-lane bypass road on PPP mode in order to contain traffic problem on the NH between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack due to running of a large number of vehicles. For a 68.724-km proposed bypass road, survey work is underway, he stated.
New Delhi-based Voyant-Solution was engaged in the survey work. According to the feasibility report submitted by the company, Rs 945 crore would be spent towards civil construction cost, Rs 1,193.62 crore for the project and Rs 560 crore to be spent towards land acquisition, tree felling and utility shifting. The Union Ministry of Road Transport Highways has taken an in-principle decision to construct this road under its NHDP-Phase-VII scheme, Patra said.