Bhubaneswar: Odisha Government in Department of Works has sought Rs 1269.02 crore from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for development of 30 roads in Odisha.
Special Secretary Works, Manoranjan Misra has recently written a letter to the Director General (DG) in the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways seeking approval of the 30 road projects under the Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) scheme, while revising the earlier proposal.
Mr.Misra requested the DG to consider the project proposals and sanction funds amounting to Rs 1269.02 crore under the CRIF Scheme during the financial year 2021-22.
The State has proposed to construct road projects of length 619.01 km under the Central Road & Infrastructure Fund.
Earlier, in September last year, Department of Works had urged the Ministry for sanction of Rs 1299 crore funds under Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) scheme, Economic Importance (EI) scheme & Inter State Connectivity (ISC) scheme during the financial year 2021-22.
In that proposal, the State Government had sought sanction of 25 road projects amounting to Rs 1001 crore under CRIF. Now, it has been revised to 30 projects of Rs 1269.02 crore, official sources said.
Besides, the Department of Works had requested the Union Government to consider sanctioning three other road projects worth Rs 123 crore under EI and another three road projects of Rs 175 crore 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 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.