‘We target to make roads of international standards in North East Region’
Gauhati, November 9 (MTNews): Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday during a late night press conference approved a slew of new road projects, worth Rs 68,000 crore in Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Nagaland.
The Union Minister said that the new projects worth Rs. 50,000 crore for Assam, Rs. 9000 crore for Meghalaya, Rs. 5,000 crore for Nagaland and Rs 4,000 crore for Sikkim were approved.
“Our aim is to change the entire scenario of road transport in NE by 2024. We target to make roads of international standards in this region,” he said.
Earlier, he reviewed the progress of National Highway (NH) projects in Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Nagaland with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister V.K. Singh, senior officials of the ministry and state, and contractors.
This was his first day of his three-day review program of NH projects in the Northeast region and Sikkim.
Discussions related to land acquisition issues, progress of ongoing projects, proposed projects, use of new technologies, disputes and arbitration, and possible financial interventions were discussed at length.
Gadkari also reviewed the delayed projects in the 4 States to understand the reasons for delay and issued specific instructions to get them on track.
He further directed all officials for the speedy completion of projects. He stressed upon the importance of coordination and partnership between Central and State agencies to develop top-class transport infrastructure in North Eastern States.