Tourist spots to be linked to highways
The NDA government has readied a ` 80,000 crore plan to link over two dozen places of religious and tourist importance to national highways by 2019.
The road transport and highways ministry has moved a cabinet note proposing to develop approximately a 7,000 km stretch of highways connecting over 24 such places across 12 states.
The states include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
“The plan is to develop this 7,000 km stretch by 2019. We are seeking inter-ministerial comments on the cabinet proposal,” said a ministry official.
Estimated to cost ` 80,000 crore, the ministry proposes to cover prominent religious spots linked to the life of Hindu gods Ram and Krishna among others. As part of the Ramyana circuit the ministry plans to develop highways linking spots like Ayodhya and Unnao in UP, Chitrakoot in MP, places in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh linked to Ram’s life.
A similar plan is in the works to develop highway connecting Mathura and Vrindavan (UP), Kurukshetra (Haryana) and Dwarka (Gujarat) as part of Krishna circuit. Highways linking Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh to places in Bihar that are part of the Buddhist religious circuit is also being readied.
The ministry is working jointly with the tourism ministry to identify all such spots of religious and tourist importance. Besides religious and tourist circuit, the program will also link backward areas in the respective states that are still not connected to national highways.