211 km of National Highways Completed in Northeast this Fiscal Year

Centre allocated Rs 3346 crore for Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In the current financial year, construction of 211 km of National Highways has been completed in the Northeast until the middle of December 2024. Assam tops the northeastern states in the construction of NHs, with 87 km completed. However, at the national level, 12 states did better than Assam in NH construction.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), 20 km of NHs was completed in Arunachal Pradesh, 87 km in Assam, 18 km each in Manipur and Meghalaya, 12 km in Mizoram, 46 km in Nagaland, 6 km in Sikkim, and 4 km of NH in Tripura during this period.

Across the country, Rajasthan topped the list in the construction of NHs with 613 km completed during the same period. The second place is taken by Maharashtra, with the construction of 418 km of NH completed. Other states that performed better than Assam in NH construction are Andhra Pradesh with 372 km, Uttar Pradesh with 370 km, Madhya Pradesh with 222 km, Tamil Nadu with 221 km, Karnataka with 219 km, Gujarat with 213 km, Bihar with 156 km, Telangana with 144 km, Chhattisgarh with 130 km, and Jammu & Kashmir with 108 km of NH completed.

Lesser performing places in India regarding NH construction are the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, with just 1 km completed.

In the last financial year of 2023-24, the Centre spent Rs. 9,137 crore in Assam for the development and maintenance of NHs. In the current fiscal year, the Centre’s allocation for Assam is Rs. 3,346 crore, of which Rs. 3,144 crore was spent till October 31, 2024.

Currently, the Jorhat-Dibrugarh stretch of NH remains a cause of concern for Assam, as the continuous delays in construction of the 4-lane highway have become a headache for people travelling on this stretch. This is the proper working season for construction activities, and it is hoped that the new contractors engaged for the NH work in Upper Assam take full advantage and expedite the work on the much-delayed projects.

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