New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken up as many as 321 national highway projects covering a total length of about 8,544 km with an allocation of Rs 1,49,758 crore for the improvement of connectivity to important tourist and religious destinations in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Ministry is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs).

The development of NHs is carried out after network planning on PM Gati Shakti principle with a "whole of government" approach.

While planning the development, important economic, tourist and religious connections are invariably taken up with special focus on Way Side Amenities (WSAs), adequate signages and road side / median beautifications. Thus, there is no requirement of a dedicated funding scheme for the development of tourist / religious destinations, the minister said in a written reply.

The allocations made on the national highways in 21 states was presented by the minister, which include Uttarakhand (Rs 13,181 crore), Kerala (Rs 12,427 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 10,601 crore) Bihar (Rs 10,028 crore), Uttar Pradesh (7,721 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 6,274 crore) Gujarat (Rs 6,902 crore) and West Bengal (Rs 5,361 crore).