The government on Thursday said it has nearly doubled fund allocation for Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North Eastern Areas (SARDP-NE) in the current fiscal to Rs 760 crore. A sum of Rs 390 crore expenditure was envisaged to be incurred from National Investment Fund for the region during 2020-21.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a statement said it has enhanced the allocation of funds for expenditure under SARDP-NE related works during the current financial year and under the revised allocation, almost double the amount originally allocated has been allowed. “Against the earlier Rs 390 crore expenditure envisaged to be incurred from the National Investment Fund during 2020-21, a sum of Rs 760 crore has been set aside for the same period. Of this, Rs 300 crore is specifically marked for the Arunachal Pradesh package,” the statement said.
Additionally, the allocations to National Highways in the North Eastern Region under 10 per cent mandatory Pool Fund has been on an upward route in the last five years, it said. A sum of Rs 4,520 crore was allocated for the year 2016-17, Rs 5,265 crore for the year 2017-18, Rs 6,210 crore for the year 2018-19, Rs 6,070 crore was allocated for the year 2019-20, and Rs 6,780 crore has been allocated for the year 2020-21 under the said Fund, it added.
“The government of India has undertaken a massive road development programme under SARDP-NE Scheme in NE Region. “Under SARDP-NE (Phase A and Arunachal Pradesh), 6,418 km (5,998 km actual design length) has already been identified for development at an estimated investment of about Rs 30,450 crore, out of which 3,356 km has been completed and 1,961 km is under construction,” the statement said.
