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.