Former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's dream project, the 3,300 km East-West Corridor from Silchar to Saurashtra,to provide rapid connectivity and boost up development of the hinterland was initially expected to have been completed within six years, Purukayastha told PTI.
He alleged that the UPA government at the Centre was not serious about completing the project and during the last 11 years, a little over 62 per cent of the Corridor has been completed.
"During the NDA regime there was round-the-clock monitoring of the progress of the highway across the state but the under UPA government, there was lack of coordination between the state and Central government," he said.
The project began in 2001 but the 31 km stretch between Balacherra and Harangajao was yet to begin even after 11 years with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) attributing the delay to the non-clearance by Union Ministry of Forest and Environment as the Corridor passes through the proposed Borail Wild Life Sanctuary.
Purkayastha pointed out that when he asked Union Minister of Surface Transport C P Joshi about the measures taken to expedite the East-West Corridor project between Balacherra and Harangajao he was told that the proposal was with the wildlife division of environment and forest ministry.
The environment and forest ministry's wildlife division was processing it for placing it in the next meeting of standing committee of National Board for Wildlife.