Centre Allocates Rs.11,000 Crore for Chhattisgarh Roads

• 03 Oct 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, approved Rs.11,000 crore for the development of road infrastructure in Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• Project Details:
  • The funding supports the construction and development of four major national highways.
  • The total length of the approved projects is 236.1 km.
  • Major Projects Cleared:
    • Urga-Katghora bypass (NH-149B)
    • Basna to Sarangarh feeder route
    • Sarangarh to Raigarh feeder route
    • Raipur-Lakhanadon economic corridor
• Additional Approvals:
  • Eight projects worth Rs. 908 crore sanctioned under the Central Road Fund (CRF).
  • Approval for the four-lane widening of Keshkal Ghat and Dhamtari-Jagdalpur road.
  • Instructions were given to ensure the completion of Raipur-Visakhapatnam road and Bilaspur-Urga-Pathalgaon road under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) within a set timeframe.

Central Road Fund

• The Central Road Fund (CRF) is a non-lapsable fund created under Central Road Fund Act, 2000.
• It is procured out of cess/tax imposed by the Union Government on the consumption of Petrol and Diesel.
• CRF should be used to develop and maintain National Highways, State roads (that have economic importance with inter-state connectivity), rural roads, railway under/over bridges etc, and national waterways (waterways from 2017 onwards only).
• The CRF was replaced with a Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) through amendments introduced in the Union Budget for 2018-19.