3,993 km of highways to be developed in Himachal: Union Minister

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday said the Centre will develop National Highways spanning 3,993 km in Himachal Pradesh, with an outlay of Rs 13,000 crore.

He also asked the state authorities to speed up implementation and monitoring of the road strengthening projects.

"I held a meeting with state officials and asked them to submit their proposals within a week on linking some more areas with national highways in the state. Simultaneously, the state should also start working on the detailed project reports without delay," Nadda told reporters here.

Nadda, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, said he was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari for showing keenness to expand the road network in the hill state.

He said Modi took personal pains to resolve devolution of funds in the 90:10 ratio to Himachal, compared with 60:10 ratio for other states.

Listing out central bonanzas given to the hill state, which will go to assembly polls in December next year, in the 14th Finance Commission, Nadda said the devolution of funds to the state from share in the central taxes between 2010-15 was Rs 11,131 crore.

From 2015-20, it will be Rs 28,225 crore, meaning an additional devolution of Rs 17,094 crore, the Union minister said.

The central devolution for Himachal Pradesh from grants-in-aid between 2010-15 was Rs 10,454 crore, while it will be Rs 43,810 crore for the 2015-20 period, an increase of Rs 33,356 crore.

He said the devolution under the state relief fund during 2010-15 was Rs 6,500 crore and will be Rs 13,004 crore during 2015-20.

Nadda did not reply to media query on his return to the state ahead of the assembly elections.

"I have been given a bigger responsibility at the Centre. I am trying to do justice to my work," he said.

Last month, he indicated that he might return to the state politics "if the party high command desired".

--IANS

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