Bengaluru, Mar 11 (PTI) Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government aims to complete all 7,110 km of rural roads being rebuilt under the ‘Pragathi Patha’ scheme within the next 1.5 years.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA K M Shivalinge Gowda during the question hour in assembly, he said delays occurred after the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is funding the project, has raised objections to 293 roads selected by the state government under the scheme.
“Pragati Patha will probably build the biggest rural road network in the country, covering 7,110 km at a cost of Rs 5,180 crore. The project includes Rs 3,242 crore in external funding from ADB, while our (govt) share is Rs 1,443 crore. We have set aside Rs 504 core for maintenance,” Kharge said.
Noting that 1,356 roads have been identified across constituencies, he said the ADB has raised objections to 293 roads, which are in Bengaluru Rural, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.
“Their (ADB) objections are that these roads come under eco-sensitive zones, reserve forests, they are prone to human-animal conflict, and they contain excess length and face right-of-way issues,” he added.
Despite this, detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared for 999 roads and 573 are ready for tenders, the Minister said adding, “probably within the next 1-1.5 months, tenders will be floated.” “There has been some delay as the ADB’s guidelines are a bit tight. They want 30 percent of the DPRs to be submitted, before the loan negotiations… we are on track,” he said.
Assuring that 7,110 km of roads in the rural areas will be completed in the next 1.5 years. Kharge said it will be executed in line with the guidelines.
Responding to a question on concerns raised by BJP MLA Sunil Kumar on objections from the ADB, he said, “We have informed the ADB team that these roads aren’t new, they have existed for 50 years and are motorable… ADB is going into the detailed assessments — they are looking at bird migratory patterns along the stretch, among other things.” PTI KSU ROH
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