The government will require at least Rs.3 lakh crore to implement the proposed new highway development programmes including Bharat Mala, Chardham connectivity and expanding about 17,500 km of the existing highway network. If the current arrange-¡ment of Rs.6 cess of fuel continues, it will generate enough funds to meet this requirement (between 2016-17 and 2023-24), according to an estimate prepared by the road transport ministry.
¨Since the specific share from fuel cess for highway building is non-lapsable, we will get the amount when we need it for undertaking more work. There are also enough indications of the fuel prices not going up in near future and the present arrangement will continue. The share from cess and budgetary allocation will be adequate to complete the new schemes,¨ a ministry official said.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.