Major Infrastructural Overhaul! Rs 1,49,758 crore allocated for upgradation of 321 National Highways connecting religious sites

Major Infrastructural Overhaul! Rs 1,49,758 crore allocated for upgradation of 321 National Highways connecting religious sites

About 321 National Highways connecting important religious sites have been taken up for improvement by the Ministry of Road Transport and National Highways, according to a written reply to the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The cost of improvement of these national highways went up to Rs 1,49,758 crores, as stated in the written response.

The points taken into consideration at the time of this process include Wayside amenities (WSAs), adequate signages, roadside/ median beautifications, etc.

The circuit of National Highways spanning across Rajasthan was the largest beneficiary under this initiative, where the improvement work was taken up to a length of 963 km. The cost of work done in Rajasthan was Rs 6,274km. Following this, the hilly state of Uttarakhand covered 676 km at the cost of Rs 10,305 km. Uttar Pradesh (631 km at Rs 7,721 crore), and Nagaland (603 km at Rs 8,409 crore) were the other top beneficiaries.

Cost-wise top beneficiary states

In terms of cost incurred, Kerala (Rs 12,427 crore for 147km), Tamil Nadu (Rs 10,601 crore for 296km), Uttarakhand and Bihar (Rs 10,028 crore for 303km), and Mizoram (9,137 km) were the top beneficiaries.

Northeast India

In the Northeast, Nagaland received the largest network, followed by Mizoram (464 km) and Arunachal Pradesh (411km). Sikkim (266 km), Meghalaya (369 km), Assam (235km) and Manipur (313km) were the other beneficiaries.