Road sectors undergo remarkable improvement

Ranchi, Aug 31 (UNI) The Jharkhand goverment today said it had achieved remarkably in the road sectors, even as the Centre was not "releasing the required money" for maintenance of national highways.

Due to non-sanction of money nearly 700 km road remained as backlog, top officials said adding the situation would worsen in the coming years.

A joint press conference of various departments was organised here to unleash a list of developmental activites since the inception of the statehood, in which Road and Building Secretary D K Tiwari said if Rs 100 crore required for construction of new roads, the Centre released only Rs 40 crore.

In the five years, nearly 2650 km road was widened and strengthened, about 50 pool constructed, he said adding process was on for construction 1000 kn roads constructed costing Rs 600 crore and 20 pools.

To a specific question on poor road condition of constructed national highways, he said Rs seven crore was received in this year for maintenance against the state's requirement of Rs 25 crore.

He said the state government was taking up projects for better road connectivity like outter ring road in Ranchi measuring about 85 km at an estimated cost of Rs 765 crore, flyovers and development of existing roads with special emphasis on tourists' interests.

IT secretary R S Sarma said goverment departments in all district headquarters would be connected through computers.

He said a softwire namely file tracker had been launched which was available on official website.

Power secretary Sudhir Tripathy said detailed project report for 22 districts with overall project cost of Rs 2744.16 crore submitted to Rural Electricty Corporation (REC).

On Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB), he said the Board was incurring loss as per month against expenditure of Rs 180 crore it was earning Rs 90 crore. The JSEB was buying power to the tune of Rs 112 crore per month, he said.

UNI PRS SJC RN1854