Cabinet allocates Rs 33,822 crore for building roads, mobile towers across 44 ‘aspirational districts’
The Union Cabinet has sanctioned two major projects to improve infrastructure across 44 ‘aspirational districts’ with a high concentration of tribal population.
The government has also given directions to complete pending work under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana Phase I, II and III, in aspirational districts and rural areas, with a focus on those areas suffering from left-wing extremism, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said. The NITI Aayog defines those districts as aspirational which are affected by the poorest socio-economic indicators.
A total road length of 1,40,41 km and as many as 2,626 bridges are set to be constructed under the latest push. A total cost of Rs 33,822 crore has been estimated for these projects, of which the Centre is set to bear Rs 22,978 crore. The time limit decided for this scheme has been set for 2024-25.
The cabinet also approved telecom connectivity in tribal areas by putting up telecom towers in 7,287 villages in five states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
“So, a total of 7,287 uncovered villages will get telecom towers and services, and lakhs of people will get connectivity,” Thakur said.
The estimated cost of implementation of Rs 6,466 crore includes operational expenses for five years.
The project would be funded by the USOF, and would be completed within 18 months of the signing of the agreement, an official release said.
The work-related to provision of 4G mobile services in identified uncovered villages would be awarded through an open competitive bidding process as per extant USOF procedures.
“The present proposal for provisioning of mobile services in the remote and difficult uncovered areas of aspirational districts across five states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha will enhance digital connectivity useful for self-reliance, facilitate learning, dissemination of information and knowledge, skill upgradation and development, disaster management, e-Governance initiatives…,” the release said.
The move would also enable the establishment of enterprises and e-commerce facilities, provision of adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing, and availability of job opportunity, while fulfilling the vision of Digital India.
