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Govt to complete all main roads by 2020: Sonowal

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 2 - The Assam government�s aim is to complete the construction of all main roads of the State by 2020, and MLAs must play their part in fulfilling this objective by prioritising the roads in their constituencies, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said today.

�When the people feel that the MLAs and public representatives have provided good roads, only then they would be able to get good response in elections,� Sonowal said at the review meeting of the Assam Public Works Department at the PWD Convention Centre here.

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been initiating projects to make model villages, model districts, model constituencies etc, Sonowal said all elected public representatives must work hard to build superior road infrastructure in Assam.

Under Modi�s leadership, both the Central and State Governments have been able to perform exceedingly well in providing quality governance and people from all sections of the society have been benefited by various Government schemes, he said.

Acknowledging that the MLAs of the present BJP-led State Government have been working efficiently, Sonowal urged the MLAs to highlight the schemes of the State Government like the Atal Amrit Abhiyan, setting up of 19 cancer hospitals, free admission in colleges and distribution of free textbooks etc., at the grassroots level so that people in all corners of the State are made aware of these successful initiatives of the Government.

Referring to the Kanaklata Mahila Sabalikaran Achoni through which funds are being provided to women self-help groups (SHGs), Sonowal said the State Government does not want women SHGs to fail and for that MLAs must follow up on how the funds are being spent by the SHGs and facilitate proper utilisation of the funds so that the women can succeed economically.

He called on the MLAs to keep a tab on the Ujjwala scheme and asked them to go to the beneficiaries frequently to enquire about their problems in using LPG. The Budget announcement of providing four LED lights each to 52 lakh families per year would be implemented soon and MLAs must play their part in making the scheme a success, he said.

�Roads built during the previous Government�s tenure used to break in six months or so and we do not want to construct such substandard roads. Construction of roads, bridges must be completed within the period from October to April and all procedures of tender, DPR etc., must be completed within the rainy season. We must not waste a single day during the construction season from October to April,� he said.

PWD Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, speaking on the occasion, said that 10,000 km of roads are being built under the PMGSY in Assam.

He said that during the previous Government�s tenure, it took 15 years to build 17,000 km of roads, while 10,000 km have been built in one year under the present Government.

Dr Sarma said that under the Mahabir Lachit Chilarai Setu Nirman Achoni, nearly 700 bridges would be built in the State at an estimated total cost of Rs 1,500 crore. Additionally, Rs 1 crore would be allotted against each of the 800 tea gardens in the State for building roads within the tea garden areas. He also called on the MLAs to suggest new roads in their constituencies which can be included while preparing the PWD action plan.

Dr Sarma informed that BJP MLAs were called for the first meeting, and MLAs of other political parties would be invited for subsequent meetings which would be held for implementing the road projects by assessing the needs of all assembly constituencies in the State.

Minister of State for PWD Tapan Gogoi, Housefed Chairman Ranjit Kumar Dass, PWD Additional Chief Secretary Alok Kumar, PWD Commissioner and Secretary Rajesh Kemprai along with several ministers and BJP MLAs were present in the meeting.

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