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BAD roads have long been the bane of Madhya Pradesh. Keeping this in view, the State government has taken steps to improve roads on a war footing. It has increased the budgetry allocation for roads from Rs.405.13 crores in 2003-04 to Rs.940 crores in 2005-06. Construction of 12,500 km of road was completed in the past two years and the target is to build 40,000 km in the next three years.
These initiatives are showing results. For example, it took an eight-hour bumpy drive to cover 100 km from Hoshangabad to Harda. Now one can cover the same distance in two hours. Similarly, the drive from Hoshangabad to Seoni Malwa has been reduced from 90 to 45 minutes. Same is the case with many other roads. The State government has encouraged private sector participation in the development of roads. Already 1,000 km roads have already been laid on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and work on 1,100 km is in progress. This year has been declared the "Year of Roads" during which, on an average, work of at least one important road would be completed every month. The Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) is doing commendable work to construct roads with the cooperation of the private sector. It has been accorded the status of a State Highway Authority. The MPRDC intends to construct 3,000 km of road in the next three years. Besides, construction of 2,000 km of road is in progress with assistance from the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Central government.
The performance of Madhya Pradesh in the construction of roads in the rural areas has been lauded by the Central government. So far, 10,600 villages having a population of up to 1,000 have been connected to all-weather roads; only 3,400 villages remain to be covered. In the coming years, about 24,000 km of rural road will be constructed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has praised the rural road construction work in the State and has assured every possible assistance for the effort. The State would soon receive Rs.650 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, which would facilitate commencement of construction of about 3,000 km of road in 1,143 villages. At present this work is stalled owing to non-receipt of the funds. Under the scheme so far over 10,000 km of road has been laid benefiting over 30 lakh people in over 3,000 villages.
The State government has asked the MPRDC to convert all its national highways into four-lane stretches to meet the inter-State vehicular traffic, which is increasing owing to Madhya Pradesh's central location. The Government of India has implemented a scheme to connect the four metropolises of the country by a four-lane road. But Madhya Pradesh, not being a part of the scheme, has not benefited much. Hence the MPRDC project. Special efforts are being made to get the sanction of Government of India for this.
The State government has paid special attention to the construction of short-distance roads, which would greatly benefit the local people. For example, the two lakh-odd people residing in Kolar and the people of 10 villages nearby will benefit from the 8-km Gol-Amaravad road, which is under construction. This road will serve as a bypass between Bhopal and Mandideep. Similarly, the area of Highway No.18 near Bhopal (towards Sanchi-Vidisha) and Highway No.23 (towards Berasia) will benefit with the construction of Sukhi Sewania-Agaria road and the journey will be reduced by 25 to 30 km. People of 16 villages in the locality will also benefit. Trees are being planted along new roads.
Almost all divisional headquarters have been connected to the State capital by road. Construction of roads is going on to connect all district headquarters to the divisional headquarters. Special attention has been paid to the quality of construction. Madhya Pradesh would soon earn a reputation for the quality of its roads, like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The government is spending Rs.100 crores on the construction of quality roads leading to the tourist centres of the State. The journey by road to Pachmarchi, the only hill station in Madhya Pradesh, would be more enjoyable with the construction of a quality road. The road journey to the world-renowned Buddhist centre Sanchi will be easier for the tourists and devotees with the construction of 50-km Bhopal-Sanchi road under a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Mandla-Kanha road is also nearing completion. Amarkantak, Mandu, Bhojpur, Bhedaghat, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Orchha are also being connected by quality roads.
The length of principal district level roads in the State is about 11,000 km. These roads are constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department. Construction of roads and culverts has been included under the tenth phase of the NABARD-funded project. The construction of principal district roads is being carried out under different schemes. A total of 5,000 km of road has been constructed from Mandi Fund.
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