Assam-Arunachal connectivity to get a boost: Nitin Gadkari
Gadkari launches highway projects worth Rs 9,533 crore in Arunachal
Our Correspondent
ZIRO (Arunachal): Taking a dig at the Congress, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said that development in the Northeast was stagnant for the past decades due to lack of right vision. The minister said this while laying foundation stones of NH projects worth Rs 9,533 crore here on Thursday.
With this the Union minister heralded a new era of development in this land-locked tribal state. He was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister Pema Khandu. “These projects will improve connectivity between Assam and Arunachal, and between district headquarters in the state by reducing travel time and distance,” Gadkari said.
“The projects of strategic importance will create new employment avenues in the region and ensure socio-economic development,” he said. He said that the projects have been divided into small packages so that the State contractors could participate.
Stating that his ministry is already executing road projects in the country worth Rs 10 lakh crore, the minister said that in the Northeast alone, the ministry sanctioned road projects worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
“At a recent meeting with Chief Minister Pema Khandu at New Delhi I assured him of providing road projects to the state worth Rs 50,000 crore and accordingly asked him to go ahead with utmost honesty and with transparency. The Central Government is with Arunachal Pradesh, and there will be no dearth of developmental funds,” Gadkari said.
“Innovation, technology, skill and research, if merged together, it will create knowledge which will in turn create wealth,” he pointed out, and asked the State Government to work in this direction for a developed Arunachal Pradesh.
While assuring completion of the projects in a time-bound manner, Gadkari said that the State Government should utilize the funds meant for the projects judiciously and in a transparent manner.
The minister suggested the government to venture out into bio-fuel industry as the State has abundant bamboo species.
In Lower Subansiri district, Gadkari laid the foundation for 472 km of National Highway costing Rs 5, 583.92 crore, which included the 26.12 km Akajan-Likabali-Bame road at a cost of Rs 374.73 crore and six packages on Joram-Koloriang road on NH-713 for a total length of 94.39 km costing Rs 1253.19 crore.
The minister also re-launched a project for double-laning of 351. 38-km Potin-Panging section of NH 229 at a cost of Rs 3, 956 crore under the Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH) project.
Earlier, at Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district, Gadkari inaugurated bridges across the Dibang and Lohit River System, including an approach road between Chowkham and Digaru.
The total length of this project is 30.95 km costing Rs 1508 crore.
Gadkari also laid the foundation for about 96.47 km of national highways projects costing Rs 2,114.82 crore at Roing, including two-laning of the 74.86 km Roing-Hunli section of Hunti-Anini Road (NH 313) at a cost of Rs 1718.59 crore, two laning of the 11.31 km Hayuliang-Hawai Road section of NJ-113 at Rs 256.66 crore and the 10.3 km Hunti-Anini section of NH-313 at a cost of Rs 139.37 crore.
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