Rural roads in Belagavi to be developed under Pragatipath

The Belagavi Zilla Panchayat will take up construction of 481.14 km of rural roads in the district under the State government’s Pragatipath scheme.

They will be developed in all the 18 Assembly seats at a cost of ₹350 crore.

“The State government has initiated the project with assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop 7,110 km of rural roads in the State at a cost of ₹5,190 crore. The last time the project was taken up was six years ago. Works will start soon,” Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi has said.

“The objective of the scheme is to bring rural roads to good condition and build a systematic and qualitative road network. This project will be implemented with external financial assistance of 70% loan and 30% State share. This is a five-year annual maintenance project. The Karnataka Rural Road Development Corporation will monitor these works. The project will be implemented on a constituency-wise package basis,” Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Rahul Shindhe has said.

Estimates have been prepared by the consultants and a tender for the first phase of 230.54 km has been invited at a cost of ₹163 crore.

“Pragatipath is a major development project implemented by the State government to improve rural connectivity. This is a five-year annual maintenance plan. The Karnataka Rural Road Development Corporation will supervise the works. Tenders have already been invited for the construction of the road,” Mr. Shindhe has said, according to a release.