Chhattisgarh to invest Rs 60,000 cr on 'Sampark Kranti'

Under the programme, the pockets earlier neglected in the state would be developed so as to bring them to the mainstream of the society

Chhattisgarh government would invest Rs 60,000 on developing infrastructure projects in the state in next three years under the 'Sampark Kranti' programme.

“Under the Sampark Kranti programme, the pockets earlier neglected in the state would be developed so as to bring them to the mainstream of the society,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said during his Republic Day speech on Tuesday. The project would ensure uniform development across the state, he said. Under the programme, the state would build roads, rail lines besides expansion of electrification and communication network in the areas that had not seen much development.

The investment of Rs 60,000 crore on the execution of the programme would be from public and private sectors, Singh said, adding that the state would have 10,000 kilometres of roads in next three years that would be built with an investment of Rs 35,000 crore. “The three new rail lines measuring 546 kilometers would draw an investment of over Rs 11,000 crore,” he said, adding that a major breakthrough had been achieved in installing mobile towers in the pockets affected by the left wing extremism.

The Chief Minister, who unfurled the national flag at the headquarters of Naxal-infested Bastar region, said of the 146 proposed mobile towers, 143 have been installed in the red zone. 122 of them have started working, he added.

Asserting that the Naxal movement would soon come to an end in Chhattisgarh, Singh said integrated action plan with security and development had been the strategy to deal with the issue. He added that besides the security personnel, the local residents had also come forward to end the menace that had become country’s biggest internal security threat.