Chennai: In a bid to expedite rural development and eliminate poverty in the village, an additional 10,000 km of country roads would be developed by the State government at a cost of Rs 4000 crore under the Chief Minister’s Village Road Development Scheme in the next two years, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday
Making the path breaking announcement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly, he said his government was keen on ensuring even growth and development all over the State and had already developed 1,38,000 km of rural roads running through village panchayats and panchayat unions.
The Chief Minister’s Village Road Development Scheme was unveiled on November 13, 2023, and work on 8,120 km of rural roads had already been completed, he told the Assembly. Under the scheme, 16596 km of roads running through villages adjoining urban localities were developed along with 425 high-level bridges at a cost of Rs 9,324.95 crore, he said.
The Dravidian Model Government did not differentiate between urban and rural roads and hence a special emphasis was being laid on developing country roads as they had the potential to trigger economic growth and eliminate poverty, he said.
The road projects are being taken up under the NABARD Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and the Prime Minister’s Village Road Scheme, besides the Chief Minister’s Village Road Development Scheme.
