Bhubaneswar: The State Government has demanded sanction of Rs 1300 crore from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for development of 31 road projects in Odisha.
State Works Secretary Dr Krishan Kumar has recently written a letter to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways seeking approval of the road projects under three different Central schemes.
Dr Kumar urged the Ministry for sanction of Rs 1299 crore funds under Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) scheme, Economic Importance (El) scheme & Interstate Connectivity (ISC) scheme during the financial year 2021-22.
He sought sanction of 25 road projects amounting to Rs 1001 crore under CRIF, three projects worth Rs 123 crore under EI and Interstate Connectivity (ISC) scheme for three road projects of Rs 175 crore. Excluding four state highways, all proposed road projects are major district roads (MDR).
The State has planned to construct road projects of length 521.35 km under the Central Road & Infrastructure Fund, 50.44 km under the Economic Importance scheme and 63.35 km of road under the Interstate Connectivity (ISC) scheme.
The Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (earlier known as Central Road Fund) was established in 2000 under Central Road Fund Act, 2000. The fund comprises a cess imposed along with excise duty on petrol and diesel.
The Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) is earmarked for various infrastructure sectors such as Transport (Road and Bridges, Ports, Shipyards, Inland Waterways, Airports, Railways, Urban Public Transport), Energy, Water and Sanitation, Communication, Social and Commercial Infrastructure, etc., as per the provisions of CRIF Act, 2000 amended by the Finance Act, 2019.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). Apart from this, it also allocates funds for development of State Roads under the three schemes.
The Ministry identified and prioritized the projects, schemes or activities for release of funds under the CRF and EI&ISC schemes in consultation with the State Governments/ Union Territories (UTs) as per the extant policies. The projects not considered for sanction/approval under these schemes during a financial year are not treated as pending, sources said.