Cabinet Approves Rural Road Connectivity Scheme For Areas Affected By Left-Wing Extremism

Cabinet Approves Rural Road Connectivity Scheme For Areas Affected By Left-Wing Extremism Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a scheme aimed at improving rural road connectivity in 44 worst Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected and adjoining districts in different states.  Under the project -- Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas --

construction and upgradation of 5,411.81 km roads and 126 bridges and cross-drainage works, critical from security and communication point of view, will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 11,724.53 crore, an official statement said. The roads under the project have been identified by the Home Ministry in consultation with state governments and security agencies concerned. However, the national and state highways will be excluded.

The project will be implemented as a vertical under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to make targeted roads all-weather ones.

Parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are considered LWE-affected in varying degrees.

The project's fund-sharing pattern will be same as that under PMGSY, that is, 60:40 ratio between the Centre and states (except for eight north-eastern and three Himalayan states (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) for which it is 90:10.