30.4.15

Bharat Mala


The government is proposing to build about 5,000 km of road network all along the borders and coastal areas under a new scheme to be called “Bharat Mala“. If former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's scheme of building Golden Quadrilateral gave a fillip to the highway construction in the country , the new plan will connect all untouched areas in the hinterland to push development and economic activities. Construction of the huge network would need at least Rs.50,000 crore, ministry sources said.
Officials said the project would be part of `work plan' the road transport ministry will submit to PM Narendra Modi on Thursday when he takes the first meeting on infrastructure sector in the current financial year. The road network will pass through all bordering states -Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Bhutan -besides covering the vast coastline.
“Already we have good road network in these stretches. We will build the missing links and also extend the network where no road exists at present. These will provide connectivity to the huge number of ports, which will be part of the `Sagar Mala' project. Once completed, these will provide seamless connectivity along the borders, which is crucial for strategic reasons,“ said a ministry official. According to sources, Rajasthan is likely to get a maximum of about 1,000 km road network under this programme. The roads will provide connectivity from Gujarat to Mizoram in the northeast and across all other states.

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