Border villages in Arunachal to get road connectivity

NEW DELHI: Small villages with population below 250 in districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China will be soon get road connectivity under the Centre's ambitious rural road scheme.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today allocated separate funds for providing new connectivity under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in strategically important districts of the northeastern state.

Out of the state's 17 districts, 10 districts are bordering China and Myanmar and the small habitations in these districts will be major beneficiaries.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said that the Cabinet approved the proposal seeking new connectivity to 126 clusters of habitations of below 250 population in Arunachal Pradesh.

An amount of Rs 1200 crore is expected to be cost for providing new connectivity to the habitations in the border districts of Arunachal Pradesh, he told reporters here.

The connectivity will be provided by clubbing the population within a path distance of 10 km and treating as a cluster for eligibility.

The Cabinet also sanctioned a proposal to provide new connectivity to 1,410 left out, unconnected habitations with population of 250 persons and above (as per the 2001 census) in the 10 Hill States and desert areas (as identified under the Desert Development Programme (DDP)).

This is estimated to cost Rs 8,551 crore. Ramesh said the Ministry's proposal seeking road connectivity in 9,112 left out, unconnected habitations with population of 500 persons and above (as per the 2001 census) in plain areas has also been approved by the Cabinet.

An amount of Rs 13, 850 crore is the estimated cost for this project.