The Madhya Pradesh government has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 2,815 crore in road projects connecting places of tourist and industrial importance. The government will construct 1,961 km of roads with an investment of Rs 1051 crore under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) scheme.
The project will start from October 15 and will be completed in three phases in the period between December 2002 and June 2003. Contractors will also have to maintain them for a period of 15 years, state minister for public works department Shravan Kumar Patel said.
These roads will connect important tourist destinations such as Mahakaleshwar, Kundalpur, Omkareshwar, Pachmarhi, Kanha, Sanchi, Rahatgarh, Chitrakoot, Maihar, Bandhavgarh, Panna Amarkantak, Kanha, and Jabalpur.
The bridges and culverts in distress condition on the state roads will be reconstructed while those are submersible will be raised. The road developer will maintain roads within specified roughness index. The strengthening and reconstruction of the roads will be done as National Highway Authority of India.
S R Mohanty, managing director of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, who is also the managing director of the state's bridge corporation, said: "These roads will be of high quality and will have no sleeping policemen."
A gap of not more than 3 mm between road and tyre of passing vehicles will determine the roughness index of the road. The government will erect safety walls and barriers to protect villages and towns.
The first phase of the BOT project will be construction of a 982 km road with a proposed investment of Rs 515 crore. Seven roads will be constructed under first phase, while under the second and the third phases eight roads will be constructed.
The second phase, beginning November 1, will ensure additional length of 508 km with an investment of Rs 256 crore, while the third phase, beginning January 2001, will cover 471 km. There will be an investment of Rs 280 crore under third phase.
