DoNER takes special road construction initiative for Northeast

NEW DELHI: A road construction initiative for rebuilding inter-state roads in the Northeast has been taken up by the government, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh said today.

The exclusive road construction initiative for the region, 'North-East Road Sector Development Scheme' (NERSDS), would primarily focus on inter-state roads, popularly referred to as "orphan" roads connecting one state with the other and often found to be neglected, he said at an event held to release the Ministry's calender for 2016.

Elaborating on the new initiative of DoNER ministry to develop the road sector, Singh said NERSDS was unique and perhaps the first of its kind introduced with the primary objective of promoting inter-state roads in the region which were earlier being maintained randomly by different agencies including the North Eastern Council (NEC).

The Minister said the first meeting of the inter-ministerial committee for this scheme was held recently in which five neglected inter-state roads were recommended for funding, which include Daimukh-Harmuti road in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Tura-Mankachar road in Assam, Assam portion of Sherkhan-Bagha Bazar road, Wokha-Merapani-Golaghat road in Nagaland and Assam and Jamai-Taning Road in Manipu will also be constructed under the scheme.

The National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) will be the project implementing agency for the road projects undertaken by NERSDS, he said.

Singh said the DoNER was responsible for the matters relating to the Planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects in the Northeastern region.

Its vision is to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the region. He said the Ministry owns the Northeast in entirety, going beyond its defined mandate and was ready to contribute in the development of Northeast in each possible manner.