The State Public Works Department has undertaken the task of a constructing 49 roads in the leftist insurgency affected districts measuring 1,970 kms in Chhattisgarh, said an official statement here on Wednesday.
A sum of `2,719.63 crore had been approved by the State Government as a Special Action Plan for the construction of the roads, according to an official Press release issued here on Wednesday.
As per the Departmental Administrative Report of the last financial year (2012-13), the PWD had already completed construction of nine roads out of 49 while incurring an expenditure of `199.83 crore.
Chief Minister Raman Singh with a view to providing a momentum to the development work in the leftist insurgency affected backward areas had accorded top priority to the construction of roads in such districts for efficient implementation of the welfare schemes in larger public interest.
As a sequel to the road projects in the Naxal affected areas, the State Government has sent a proposal to the Central Government to contruct roads under a special project (lWE) in the undivided seven districts mainly Sarguja, Rajnandgaon, North Bastar (Kanker), Narayanpur, Bastar (Jagdalpur), South Bastar (Dantewada) and Bijapur which had been accepted by the Central Government.
Moreover, out of the 33 districts selected by the Central Government for ending the insurgency problem in them and improving infrastructure in those districts also includes seven insurgency affected districts of Chhattisgarh.
PWD Minister Brijmohan Agarwal said that under the special plan for the Naxal affected districts, the State Government had proposed to upgrade a total of 16 roads measuring 629.65 kms in Sarguja district which includes a bridge, three roads in Rajnandagon district measuring 54.50 kms, five roads in North Bastar (Kanker) measuring 210.40 kms, one road in Kondagaon district measuring 29.85 kms, three roads in Narayanpur district measuring 152 kms, three roads in Bastar (Jagdalpur district) measuring 32.10 kms, four roads in South Bastar (Dantewada) measuring 188 kms, seven roads in Bijapur district measuring 349.50 kms and four roads in Sukma district measuring 324.93 kms.
The upgradation work of the roads would also involve making them two lane and also strengthening them. The small and large bridges on the way of the roads would be constructed from a scratch, he added.