Centre offers Rs 25,000 cr for Assam road connectivity

Guwahati: Centre will provide Rs 25,000 crore for development of road connectivity in Assam in next five years. Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Satuarday said after laid the foundation stones of two bridges over the river Brahmaputra at Moran that the union government has given top priority to develop road connectivity in Assam and North Eastern region.

The minister also laid foundation stones of four-laning roads of the NH-37 over a length of 82.6 km with cost of Rs 1980 crore. The projects are 18.40 km road from end of Nagaon bypass to Rangagara costing Rs 225.02 crore, 18 km from Rangagara to Kaliabor Tinali worth Rs 289.99 crore, 26.90 km from Demow to end of Moran bypass at Rs 385.55 crore and 19 km road from end of Moran bypass to Bogibeel junction near Lepetkatta costing Rs 330.30 crore.

Gadkari had also declared seven new national highways in Assam. On the other hand Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi expressed surprise that Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Nitin Jayram Gadkari went about laying the foundation stone of two bridges connecting Sivasagar and North Lakhimpur via Desangmukh, Dhakhukhana and another connecting Jorhat and North Lakhimpur via Majuli without preparing the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).

In a statement Gogoi said that the foundation stone laying of the two bridges by Union Minister Gadkari today in the State without preparing the DPRs has exposed that the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre is out to hoodwink the people with an eye on the upcoming Assembly election.

“I have never seen a Central Government like the present one of going out with foundation stone laying spree without preparing the DPRs. They are out to hoodwink the people with an eye on the elections,” Gogoi said.

Gogoi questioned how come the project cost for the two massive bridges across the Brahmaputra could be estimated without preparing the DPRs that include feasibility report. The Assam CM said that though the Central Ministers, including the Prime Minister have made over 200 trips to Assam in the past 19 months, nothing concrete has emerged so far.

“The Central Ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making a beeline to the State trying to give one the impression that the present dispensation at the Centre has a soft corner towards Assam and the North East Region as a whole. The grim reality is: Nothing concrete has emerged. What the Prime Minister has inaugurated were outcome of the initiatives of the previous Congress-led UPA Government,” Gogoi said.

Gogoi said that if the Prime Minister has been so much interested in ushering in development in Assam and the entire North East region, then why did his Government curtail the Special Category Status, changed the funding pattern from the earlier 90:10 and suspended the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy. The Assam CM said the recent Railway Budget has brought to the fore the Modi-led Government’s step-motherly treatment towards Assam.

“The Railway Budget has been a great disappointment to the people of the State. I pleaded with the Railway Minister to incorporate several important projects in the Rail Budget but to no avail,” Gogoi said.