The Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project (HPSRTP) will receive a funding of US$82 million (Rs 585 crore) from World Bank (WB) for the upgradation of major roads and modernization of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Himachal Pradesh (HP).
- Under tranche-I of HPSRTP, Road construction work of Barotiwala-Baddi-Sain-Ramshehar with length of 45 kms, Dadol-Ladraurr Road with length of 14.5 kms, Mandi- Riwalsar-Kalkhar of length 28 kms and Raghunathpura-Mandi- Harpura-Bharari road with length of 3.5 kms would be undertaken.
Efforts by HP govt to Speed-Up the Construction Work
The lockdown has disrupted the construction and maintenance of road projects in the state. For FY 19-20 the state govt’s target was to construct 900 kilometres road length but only 800-km was achieved as works were halted due to Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown. Now, to speed-up the road projects the state government has taken the following decisions:
- Optimal utilization of local labour.
- Allowing inter-district movement of trucks carrying construction material from mining sites to project areas.
- Opening of hardware shops so that works do not hamper due to want of construction material.
Apart from above, the construction of 4,960-km roads has been fixed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) for FY 2020-21 for which financial allocation of Rs 1,666 crore had been made.
Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojna (PMGSY):
It was launched by the Govt. of India in 2000 by then-prime minister of India Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected Habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy. In HP the target length is 3,015 Km but completed only 1,050.589 as of FY 2019-20. It works under the aegis of Ministry of Rural Development.
About HP:
Chief Minister– Jai Ram Thakur
Capital– Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
State Animal– Snow leopard
State Bird– Western Tragopan (Tragopanmelanocephalus)
State Flower– Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron campanulatum)
About World Bank:
Establishment– 1944
President– David R. Malpass
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States
Subsidiaries– International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA,) International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
