Arunachal seeks national highways status for four roads

Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein today urged the Centre for early notification of four state roads in the state as national highways.
Mein called on Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi and requested him to notify the 120 km Akajan-Likabali-Bame, 44 km Margherita- Changlang, 125 km Daporijo-Gerukamukh-Dullungmukh and 59 km Tezu-Chapakhowa via Sunpura roads as national highways at the earliest, an official communique said here.
Gadkari, during his visit to the state on January 31 this year had in principal agreed to declare these roads as national highways.
Mein told Gadkari that National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has been entrusted with the preparation of detailed project report (DPR) for the roads.

The Akajan-Likabali-Bame road, which is under improvement to two-lane standard under Arunachal Pradesh Package for Roads and Highways under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP)-NE, was, however, kept out.
He urged that the union minister consider funding of East-West Industrial Highway Corridor and Frontier Highway under Bharatmala Programme on priority saying that these roads are vital for the economic uplift of the people of the north eastern state as well as for all weather connectivity to the border areas.

The proposed highways are Bhairabkhund to Ruksin (431 km) under Phase-I, Mahadevpur to Kanubari (100 km) under Phase-II and the Arunachal Frontier Highway (1841 km).

The union minister has agreed to consider funding of East-West Industrial Highway Corridor from Bhairabkhund to Ruksin and Mahadevpur to Kanubari on condition that the state government make land available free from any encumbrances for these roads, the communique said.
Gadkari said that the ministry had already set up a committee under the chairmanship of Director General (Road Development) and special secretary in February this year to examine the cost economics and to suggest innovative materials and technologies to be adopted for the proposed frontier highway in the state.
The first meeting of the committee is likely to be held in the first week of June, the communique added.