Nitin Gadkari appeals to insurgents in Northeast to shun violence

ITANAGAR: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today appealed to the insurgent groups of the Northeast region to shun violence and join the mainstream.

"The Centre is committed for all-round development of the region and accordingly constituted the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), especially for the NE states to accelerate the pace of development at par with rest of the country," Gadkari told reporters here this evening.

He said, the Corporation would execute all the road projects earlier awarded to National Highway Authority (NHA) besides executing a few projects of the BRO.

"The head office of the NHIDCL will be inaugurated at Guwahati tomorrow and branch office will be established in all the states of the region," he said.

Disclosing that the ministry would organise a workshop for all the contractors of the region for capacity building so that they could execute road projects in their respective states, the minister informed that the Centre had decided to plan small projects to the tune of 50 crore so that the local contractors could execute it.

"Local contractors will be trained to gain expertise so that they could participate in execution of works in their respective states," he said adding that, the ministry would also assist the state government in preparation of detailed project reports for the projects.

Disclosing proposals for converting all existing national highways to cement concrete roads in the region to avoid huge maintenance cost, Gadkari said the ministry had already booked 95 lakh tonne cement from various cement companies at cheap rate for the purpose.

He also asked the state government to send proposals for constructing road-side amenities along all National highways which would open vistas of employment for the locals.