Meghalaya Govt to allocate Rs 10 crores for the procurement of additional buses for easing intra-state mobility

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 22, 2024

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma informed the last six years has seen a sustained push to build new roads, upgrade existing ones and connect habitations where the expenditure on the sector has increased from Rs. 1,108 crores in 2018-19 to Rs. 1,788 crores in the current financial year during the placing of the Meghalaya State Budget on Wednesday.

Sangma said that the Government is working on a comprehensive roadmap for rehabilitating 5,909 kilometres of all-weather roads and converting 1,634 kilometres of fair-weather road to all weather roads by 2032 and almost 7.3 kilometres of timber bridges will also be converted to permanent bridges. He also said that a systematic program for maintenance of the existing road network is also being finalised by putting in place a Road Asset Management system.

Under the Chief Minister’s Rural Connectivity program all unconnected villages will be covered progressively, the Chief Minister said suspension foot bridges will be built to enable people to cross streams in a safe and comfortable manner. He also said for 2024-25, the target is to cover 100 unconnected villages and build 100 suspension foot bridges and he added that “I am allocating an amount of Rs 150 crore to achieve this.”

Informing that new road projects with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore will be initiated in the next financial year, Sangma said these include the rehabilitation and strengthening of the Chokpot to Karukol road at about Rs 156 crore, widening of Mawphlang Balat road at Rs 87 crore and construction of major bridge over river Umngot on Jongksha-Moodymmai-Wahiajer Road at Rs 25 crore.

He also said that the second phase of the very successful Meghalaya integrated transport project is being designed with a planned investment of Rs 2,400 crore with support from the World Bank. “I am allocating an amount of Rs 2,709 crore for the Roads and Building sector for 2024-25,” he added.

Another aspect of improving connectivity is to provide public transportation between different regions of the State, Sangma said, “I am allocating an amount of Rs 10 crore for the procurement of additional buses that will ease intra-state mobility.”