Govt approves Rs 2,130 cr road projects in Assam

Cost of widening of 51 km Numaligarh to Jorhat section is estimated at Rs 645 cr while four-laning of 80 km stretch of Jorhat to Demow is estimated at Rs 963 cr

In a bid to boost infrastructure in North Eastern region, the government today approved three important highway projects in Assam entailing Rs 2,130 crore expenditure under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP).

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for four-laning of Numaligarh to Jorhat, Jorhat to Demow and Demow to Bogibil sections of National Highway No 37 in Assam under SARDP Phase A," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters after the meeting.

The cost of widening of 51 km Numaligarh to Jorhat section is estimated at Rs 644.60 crore while four-laning of 80 km stretch of Jorhat to Demow is estimated at Rs 963.21 crore, he said.

The widening cost for 46 km stretch of Demow to Bogibil will be about Rs 522 crore, Tewari said adding, the project cost estimated for all these projects exclude the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

 All these projects would be implemented under SARDP in North Eastern region phase A on build, operate and transfer (BOT-Annuity) under design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) pattern, he said.

On the Numaligarh to Jorhat project, an official statement said, that it will "expedite improvement of infrastructure in the State of Assam and also reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Nagaon and Dibrugarh."

Development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition of this region in the state, it said, adding it will also increase employment potential for local labourers in project activities.

On the Jorhat to Demow project, the statement said it is covered in the districts of Jorhat and Sivsagar and passes through the towns of Jorhat, Jhanji, Gorisagar, Sivsagar and Demow and will increase employment potential for local labourers in project activities.

The Demow to Bogibil project will result in economic development of the region, it said.

The government has earlier set a target to complete Rs 33,688 crore worth of projects under SARDP by June 2016 to improve infrastructure in the country's North Eastern region.

So far, about 1,180 km have been completed under SARDP, as per the Road Ministry, which has set a target of awarding projects having a total length of about 2,000 km and achieve completion in 550 km length during 2013-14.

The programme envisages providing road connectivity to all the district headquarters in the north eastern region by minimum 2-lane highway standards apart from providing road connectivity to backward and remote areas, areas of strategic importance and neighbouring countries.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes and Secretary Vijay Chhiber had last month reviewed the progress of projects in presence of Chief Ministers of these states.