Gadkari gives Maharashtra Rs 20,000 crore to build roads

 Maharashtra, the home state of roads, highways, transport and shipping minister, Nitin Gadkari, will get the lion's share of road projects this year, which will be executed ministry said a report in the Times of India. According to an official order issued by the ministry on Friday, officials have been allowed to sanction projects with expenses up to Rs 20,000 crore for Maharashtra during this year. The total approved sanction ceiling for building highways for 2016-17 for all states is pegged at Rs 42,208 crore.

These works don't include projects that are undertaken by National Highways Authority of India."The projects sanctioned this year will be executed in the next 2-3 years and hence the entire allocation will be released in instalments. Maharashtra has got a good share since many stretches in the state have been declared as new national highways in the past two years and detailed project reports are ready," said a ministry official quoted in the report. He added that the original demand from the state was Rs 40,000 crore investment, but it was reduced by half. 

This year, highways ministry has got more funds to spend in non-NHAI highway projects since it was decided to provide only Rs 2,000 crore from the total fuel cess of Rs 42,000 crore to the authority. The rest will remain with the ministry for projects it executes through state PWDs and its new highway construction agency, NHIDCL.

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