UPA Govt committed to quality road infrastructure

Hyderabad, Aug 26 (UNI) Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu today said the United Progressive Alliance government was committed to ensuring quality road infrastructure to become a facilitator for a good public transport system.

Inaugurating a national seminar on 'Need of Public Transport in the Present Scenario' here, he said improvement in the public transport and roads would bring about a revolution in the transport system, provide convenience, safety and pollution-free environment.

He said the Government had already drawn up a road map for development and maintenance of National highways upto 2012 Improvement of road infrastructure was important for reduction of vehicle operating cost, pollution and road accidents.

He said the Transport Ministry had undertaken the largest ever road improvement and upgradation programme.

Under the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) upgradation, about 18,000 km of National Highways consisting of 5846 km of the Golden Quadrilateral, linking the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, 7300 km of the North-South and East-West corridors linking Srinagar in the North to Kanniyakumari in the South and Porbander in the West to Silchar in the East had been taken up.

Apart from this was 1325 km of port connectivity and other National Highways including 4000 km of National Highways linking State capitals, tourist and world heritage centres and places of economic importance. It had been taken up at a cost of about Rs 87,000 crore.

He said the Mumbai-Chennai arm of the Golden Quadrilateral had been fully completed while some work in 431 km could not be completed due to certain unforeseen circumstances. Under phase-IIIA, 4000 km was scheduled to be finished by December 2009, Mr Baalu said.

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