Govt hopeful of completing 7,110 km rural roads in next 1.5 years

Government aims to complete 7,110 km of rural road rebuilding under the Pragati Patha scheme in 1.5 years.

The State government is hopeful of completing work on 7,110 km of rural roads selected for rebuilding under the Pragati Patha scheme in the next one-and-a-half years, despite several objections raised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is funding the project.

Replying to K.M. Shivalinge Gowda (Congress), Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that under the Pragati Patha scheme, the government plans to rebuild 7,110 km of rural roads at a cost of ₹5,180 crore. Of this, the ADB is lending ₹3,242 crore.

A total of 1,353 roads were selected constituency-wise. Of these, the ADB has raised objections to 293 roads. These roads are located in Bengaluru Rural, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts, Mr. Kharge said.

Priyank Kharge

Detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared for 999 roads, and 573 are ready for tendering. Tenders will be floated in the next one-and-a-half months, he said.

The ADB has raised objections to roads that pass through reserve forest areas, regions prone to human–animal conflict, migratory bird habitats, and other environmentally sensitive zones, he added.