Tarun Gogoi urges Nitin Gadkari to ensure maintenance of Assam's national highways

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today urged Union Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari to ensure that NHIDCL undertakes construction and maintenance work of national highways in the state.

In a letter sent to Gadkari, the chief minister said as per the policy decision of the ministry though state PWD handed over stretches of the National highways No 37, 37A, 52 and 53 to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the corporation has neither taken up the construction activities nor undertaken maintenance work leaving the state in the lurch.

Situation in the stretches of these highways have become so bad that in some patches these stretches have become turned into virtual craters, he said.

"I urge the Union Minister to instruct NHIDCL to take immediate remedial measures failing which the Ministry should revert to its earlier policy and allow us to develop and maintain our stretches of highways", Gogoi added.

An amount of Rs 218 crore was sanctioned in November 2014 for the maintenance of NH-44, the life line of Barak Valley and link to Tripura and Mizoram, but work has not been allotted yet.

The mega block imposed by NF Railway for gauge conversion work and the resultant huge traffic load on NH-44, has made it almost impossible to maintain the highway under normal repair fund.

Gogoi urged Gadkari to take initiative and intervene to improve the National highways in the state.