Centre clears projects worth Rs 438 crore for Ladakh

NEW DELHI: Aiming to boost infrastructure development in the remote Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre today cleared projects worth Rs 438 crore for construction of 349 km of roads there under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).

Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari approved 28 projects pertaining to the vast but thinly populated region.

While 22 proposals in Kargil have been cleared, six projects in Leh have also received the Union government's nod. Both districts are part of Ladakh region.

Construction of 142 km and 207 km of roads will be taken up under the scheme in Leh and Kargil respectively.

PMGSY is a fully-funded centrally sponsored scheme to provide all-weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country.

Started in 2000 under the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the scheme gave a fillip to road sector development in rural India.