The road transport and highways ministry Tuesday said it has approved highway projects worth over Rs.40,000 crore to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the northeastern region."We have approved projects worth Rs.20,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir. They include two-laning and four-laning of national highways in the state, some road projects in Leh and Ladakh and we will coordinate with the Public Works Department for these projects," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters here.He said these projects will be completed in the next two-and-a-half years and will encourage tourism in the state.
Gadkari also announced projects worth Rs.15,000 crore in the northeast region comprising Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura."Within three months, we will start work on those projects and preparation of detailed project reports has already started," he said.Regarding Uttarakhand, which faced massive floods last year, Gadkari said: "We will set up a new highway network in the state and will invest Rs.6,000 crore for that."The government plans to build one-way roads in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh."It is difficult to widen the existing roads, specifically between Kullu and Manali. Therefore, we have suggested that there will be one-way roads in the area," Gadkari said.The minister reviewed over 250 road projects worth about Rs.60,000 crore and said the ministry is trying to expedite the clearances for projects stuck due to land acquisition and environment clearance issues.