Government will build 7294 kms of roads in naxal-affected areas of the country with the cost of over Rs 10,000 crore in the second phase of Road Requirement Plan (RRP), Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said here today.
Addressing media persons here after attending a meeting of chief ministers of naxal-hit states, Gadkari said building an extensive network of roads was necessary in these areas to solve the naxal problem and to take development to the poor.
"Roads are being built in naxal-hit areas under RRP. In the second phase, roads to the length of 7294 kms will be built including 48 new bridges. This will incur expenditure of Rs 10,700 crore," Gadkari told reporters.
Roads to the length of 3200 kms out of the target of 5477 kms have been built across 34 districts during the first phase of RRP, he said, adding the construction work has been going on with "better coordination" between state governments and Centre.
On the timeframe, he said, "While the work under first phase of RRP will be completed by this year-end, the work on the second phase will start soon."
Gadkari said agencies like DRDO and Military Engineering Services will be roped in to construct bridges in insurgency-hit areas where international technique will also be used.
"It is often difficult to get the material required for raising bridges in the affected areas where law and order is not that good. There are also issues involving building of roads. We will use new technique for the purpose," the minister said.
Gadkari said government will prefer local contractors for carrying out road building in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
"This (giving preference to contractors) will generate employment for tribal youths and local people also" Gadkari said, adding this issue will be discussed with the department of Environment and Forests in a bid to expedite road building.
He said Union government is fully supporting the LWE-affected states.
The meeting, also attended by PWD ministers of naxal-affected states and senior officials of CRPF, discussed various schemes regarding construction of bridges.
Chief Ministers of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Raghuvar Das and Raman Singh, Union minister of state for Home Haribhai Chaudhary, and PWD ministers of Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP and UP also attended the meeting.
