PM Gati Shakti green lights 6 infra projects, connecting industrial hubs with ports

Six infrastructure projects related to roads and railways worth Rs 52,000 crore have been proposed for approval under the PM Gati Shakti programme. The projects have also been assessed at the 56th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM Gati Shakti. Notably, the meeting was held at the recently inaugurated Yashobhoomi Convention Center in New Delhi.

This takes the total number of projects assessed by NPG to 112 with a total value of about Rs 11.53 lakh crore, since the launch of PM GatiShakti.

The NPG is an inter-ministerial body. All infrastructure and economic ministries and departments at the central and state level have created their own customised planning portals which are integrated to PM Gati Shakti NMP. These digital systems help data-based decision-making for integrated planning of infrastructure projects and synchronised implementation. More than 150 critical infrastructure gaps have been identified by adopting PM Gati Shakti mechanism. It aims at reducing logistics cost and supporting economic activity in the country.

Among the key projects a greenfield road located in Gujarat and Maharashtra is part of the NPG. The road will benefit not only industrial belts in Navsari, Nashik, Ahmednagar districts but also the agriculture sector in the region. Additionally, the project is expected to contribute to overall socio-economic development of tribal districts like Navsari, Valsad and Nashik by providing easy and convenient connectivity, an official release said. It will also benefit the tourism sector in the region and will also connect aspirational districts, such as Osmanabad.

Another greenfield road project is also located in Gujarat which will run through Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad District. It will connect Amritsar-Jamnagar economic corridor with Ahmedabad and Vadodara and will integrate with other modes of transportation, thereby contributing to the promotion and usage of multi-modality in the region.

The third road project proposed is located in Bihar. The project, expected to bring-in socio-economic development in left-wing extremism (LWE) affected districts, including tribal areas, involves construction of four laning of Patna- Arrah-Sasaram corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojna. Besides, the project will help in improving logistics efficiency by reducing existing route and travel time, and provide seamless connectivity for the traffic coming from UP through Purvanchal Expressway and going towards Jharkhand and Patna. It will also integrate the waterways in the region

Another road project, located in Uttar Pradesh, was also discussed during the NPG meeting. The objective of the project is to improve the interstate connectivity among Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

During the meeting, two railway project proposals with a total project cost of about Rs 6700 Crore were also assessed. One of these is a greenfield railway line in Odisha, which will pass through the districts of Ganjam, Nayagarh, Khandhamal, Boudh, Sambalpur and Angul districts. It will connect the industrial and mineral clusters of western Odisha with the East Coast port. Additionally, the industrial clusters in eastern Chhattisgarh will also get a shorter Port connectivity with the East Coast. This railway line is expected to bring overall socio-economic development in the tribal belts of Kandhamal and Boudh districts and will open up opportunities for new industrial corridors along the proposed line.

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