Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Aug 7: State PWD minister, C M Udasi, revealed that a proposal to concrete 43 kms of ghat roads at a cost of Rs 100 crore got the nod at a meeting chaired by home minister, Dr V S Acharya on Friday August 6. These roads are critical links between the coastal districts and the districts located across the Western Ghats.

Udasi informed that the officials have been asked to finalize the details of the project within a week. Out of the said amount, Rs 75 crore will go towards the ghat roads linking Shimoga, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, while the balance will go for the ghat roads in Uttara Kannada district. The roads chosen for concreting are the once which are located in sharp bends, which tend to get damaged fast.

He said that the central government’s nod is awaited for the proposal amounting to Rs 130 crore for developing Shiradi Ghat road. “A proposal to avail Rs 1250 crore loan from Asian Development Bank for developing state roads and district main roads is moving ahead and the state hopes that the loan will be granted by December,” he disclosed. He said that the balance payable to contractors amounting to Rs 1,000 crore is not huge, taking into account the pending amounts during the previous governments, and that a meeting is being chaired by the Chief Minister to take a decision on this aspect on August 9.