Ranchi, Jul 17: The state government said that the Ranchi-Jamshedpur stretch of the NH-33 would be completed by May 2018.
Addressing a press conference at the Suchana Bhawan here Secretary of Road Construction Department Mastram Meena said that so far only 45 per cent work of the road has been completed. He said that however the company executing the project has given an affidavit before the Jharkhand High Court that the project would be completed by May 2018 and the department was also hoping that the target would be met.
He said that the state government was a mere facilitator for the projects of the NHAI and also ensures the company executing teh work does not face any problems and its all other requirements are fulfilled. He said that the Chief Minister himself was very serious over the project and on several occasions he too has raised the issue during his meetings with the Union Minister and officials of the NHAI.
On the other hand the department also admitted that teh pace of road construction in the state was well belwo the national average. Mr Meena said that on an average only 4-5 kilometers of raods were being constructed in the state while the national average is between 20-21 kilometers per day. He said that the department has set a target to construct 1550 kilometers of road during 2017-18 and build 50 bridges out of which 350 kilometers of raods and 3 bridges have been built.
Mr Meena said that during the budget the department was sanctioned a sum of Rs 5,000 crore out of which 36.81 pc amounting to Rs 1840 crore had been spent while in the previous fiscal it was Rs 4000 crore and during the same period last fiscal more than 38 pc funds were spent.He also said that the seventh phase of the Ranchi Ringh road would be completed by March 2018.