3 Highways Projects Of Modi Govt That Will Act As Pathway For Growth

Better roads will have a pivotal role in building a better India. Keeping that in mind, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has announced many big-ticket road projects that, if implemented well, will change the way we perceive connectivity.

PropGuide lists three road projects that might act as the pathway for growth in future:

Embracing it all: Bharatmala Pariyojna

Launched by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) has the distinction of being the country's biggest road project under which 50,000 kilometres of roads have been built. On October 25 this year, the Central government approved a mega plan to kickstart this project at a cost of about Rs 7 lakh crore. The project will be completed in five years.  Under this umbrella project, the government plans to connect every nook and corner of India.

In the first phase, of the total 34,800 kms, 1,000 km of roads will be constructed on the eastern and western borders. Similarly, 2,100 km of coastal roads and 2,000 km of port connectivity will be completed in the first phase, promoting tourism and industrial development. A special focus will be laid on far-flung areas across the country. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

The city connect: Rashtriya Rajmarg Zila Sanjoyokta Pariyojna

Cities are the growth centres of a country and poor roads can really be detrimental to them. However, national highways of India connecting district headquarters can so far not boast of being in a good state. But, that might change soon. The government will be spending an estimated cost of Rs 60,000 crore to connect headquarters of 100 districts through world-class highways, spanning 6,600 kms. There are 676 district headquarters across the country. The national highways do not have uniform configuration across the length and an upgrade will ensure better connectivity.

Pilgrims' progress: Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna

The cloudburst catastrophe of 2013 devastated Uttarakhand infrastructure, a state that has the privilege of housing char dhams – the four abodes of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath that have a great religious significance and are frequented by scores of pilgrims every year. After taking charge the following year, Modi pledged to rebuild the Himalayan state. Working towards that, he laid the foundation of the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna in December last year. To be built at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore, the project by developing a road network spanning 900 kilometres will be providing better connectivity to the four religious centres. Upon completion in 2018 (the government expects the project to be completed by that time), the project would  boost tourism in the hilly state. Personnel for defence establishments along the Indo-China border areas in the state Uttarakhand are deployed through these roads. From a strategic point of view, too, this would be a major development.

With inputs from Gunjan Piplani