The State government has spent a whopping Rs 1,714 crore in the past two years on roads and their upkeep.

Disclosing this at the recently concluded State Legislature session, Public Works Minister C M Udasi said of the total amount Rs 1,140 crore was spent in 2010-11 fiscal, while Rs 574 crore was spent in the current financial year (till December, 2011).

It is saddening that though a huge amount was spent on roads, a majority of roads continue to be in a bad state. Moreover, a major portion of the funds allocated was spent on maintenance and repair of roads.

MLAs cutting across party affiliations in the Assembly complained about the pathetic state of roads.

Despite the complaints of MLAs on the abysmal state of roads in the State, the minister continued to maintain that the roads are in good state.

If the break up of the amount spent on each of the Assembly constituencies is taken into account, the PWD has spent Rs 13.98 crore for road repair work in Varuna Assembly constituency in Mysore district, which is the highest. The constituency is represented by the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah.

The PWD has so far spent Rs 297 crore for development of roads in 12 districts in the State, Udasi said.

Also, the department has spent Rs 53 crore towards repair of Shiradi Ghat road between 2008-09 and 2010-11, the minister added.