Cabinet approves highways development in five states

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the development of National Highways totalling 1,120 km in length in Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

"The work for the development of two-lane standards fall under Phase-I of the National Highways Inter-connectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP) with World Bank assistance. The revised estimated cost is Rs 6,461 crore, including the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities," said an official statement.

The proposal was initially approved for Rs 5,193 crore.

The cost increased due to higher bid prices, and increase in cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

"The projects have already been taken up for implementation and 429-km roads completed. The civil works are expected to be completed by July 2019 and maintenance works by July 2024," said the statement.

"The project will ensure safe, fast and all-weather movement of traffic on the proposed National Highways, mostly located in backward regions, thereby boosting socio-economic development," added the statement.

--IANS

rup/tsb/vt