JOIN USMinister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar, on Thursday said he has sent a proposal to the chief minister seeking approval for the development of 30 km of roads in each of the rural Assembly constituencies in the forthcoming budget.
The proposal will be a continuation of the Namma Grama Namma Raste scheme.
“Last year we had taken up development of 20 km of roads in each of the rural constituencies. However, this year I have sent a proposal for developing 30 km of roads. I am hopeful that the chief minister will consider the proposal,” he said.
The minister said the Centre has not provided any funds under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the past two years.
Speaking at a seminar on
Pilot projects, with a special emphasis on Greenfield Expressway in Karnataka, organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), he said the State had an excellent record in implementing the PMGSY.
“The Centre had approved development of 16,115 km of rural roads in seven phases. We have so far completed work till Phase VI and work till Phase VIII shall be completed by the year-end,” the minister said.
“The State stands second with regard to implementation of the scheme,” Shettar added.
Highlighting that the State was not deterred by the lack of Union government’s support with regard to the development of roads, Shettar said 3,714 km of roads across 189 rural Assembly constituencies in the State had been developed in the first phase of Namma Grama Namma Raste scheme.
In total, Rs 1,069 crore was sanctioned for the development of roads at the rate of Rs 28 lakh per km to ensure that the quality of roads was on a par with those under the PMGSY.