Orissa seeks Rs 2000 crore under PMGSY

Bhubaneswar, May 20 (UNI) The Orissa government will submit a proposal to the Union government seeking an assistance of Rs 2000 crore for the construction of 4,500 km of road under the Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojana(PMGSY) during 2008-09.

Orissa Rural Development Minister Biswa Bhushan Harichandan told newspersons here that a Detail Project Report(DPR) for the proposed roads would be sent to the union government soon.

After a meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to review the progress of the work under the PMGSY, Mr Harichandan said Orissa ranked 5th in the country in terms of expenditure.

He said Orissa had spent Rs2381.34 crore till April last to grab the fifth position after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhatisgarha.

He said Rajasthan topped the list with an expenditure of Rs 4585.95 crore followed by Madhya Pradesh Rs 4271.35 crore, Uttar Pradesh Rs 2749.39 crore and Chhatisgarha Rs 2500.62 crore.

The Minister said the government managed to spend 98 per cent of the total fund released by the Union government. While the central government had released Rs 2351.48 crore it had spent Rs 2313.72 crore.

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