Rs.80,000 cr sought for highway expansion plan

The Road Transport And Highways Ministry has sought over Rs 80,000 crore from the Finance Ministry to fuel its highway expansion plan in the fiscal year beginning April 1. The ministry plans to use most of the funds sought for the government´s Bharat Mala project, which envisages construction of 25,000 km of roads. The ministry aims to complete the project by 2022. The government also plans to build 9,000 km of roads connecting over 123 district headquarters at an investment of Rs 60,000 crore, another 7,000 km in backward areas at Rs 80,000 crore and the 900-km Char Dham stretch, connecting Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, at Rs 11,700 crore.