401 Himachal roads wait for green nod

At least 401 roads in Himachal Pradesh are awaiting forest clearance from the government, these roads also include forest violations and review petitions in courts.

"Out of these 176 roads are of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 113 of Nabard and 112 state roads," Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh told the state assembly yesterday.

He said the forest clearances were pending at various levels and were monitored on a monthly basis by the state's principal secretary forests .

Replying to another question, the chief minister told the house that in the current financial year about Rs 14 crore had been allotted in the railway budget for three railways lines in the state. "Rs 10 crore for Nangal-Talwara rail line , Rs 4 crore for Bhanupali-Bilaspur Beri rail line and Rs 1 lakh for the Chandigarh-Baddi rail line," he said.

Replying to a supplementary, the minister said he was not happy with the slow progress of railway expansion in the state in the past many years despite efforts by the state government.

In a written reply to another question, he said the state government proposed setting up eight ropeways to promote tourism. "Ropeways were proposed at Bhuntar-Bijli Mahadev, Palchan-Rohtang (Kullu), and Neugal-Palampur among others.