The much-delayed 23.57km-long six-lane Phase VII of Ranchi Ring Road, built at an estimated cost of Rs 452 crore, was finally inaugurated by chief minister Raghubar Das near Kathitand, on the outskirts of the capital, on Friday.
With this, five phases (barring Phases I and II) of the 85.55km Ring Road, whose foundation was laid by former chief minister Madhu Koda way back in 2007, have become operational to prevent heavy vehicle congestion in capital arteries.
Phase VII, which connects the Ranchi-Daltonganj stretch of NH-75 with the Ranchi-Hazaribagh stretch of NH-33, will allow heavy vehicles (not bound for Ranchi) coming via NH 75 to hit NH-33 at Karma without entering the city.
In other words, trucks and trailers, ferrying industrial consignments, will be able to reach Jamshedpur, Patna (Bihar) and Purulia (Bengal) faster.
Das, also inaugurated a 23.9km district road linking Sonahatu to Milan Chowk, built at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore. He used his 40-minute speech to stress on benefits of a stable, majority government instead of a “khichdi sarkar” or coalition government.
“There were many governments since the formation of the state, but in the last four years, people have realised the benefits of a majboot sarkar (stable government) against a khichdi sarkar. When I took over as chief minister, only 18 per cent households had toilets and now, over 99 per cent households boast toilets. We are committed towards realising the dreams of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and becoming one of the leading states in the nation,” he said.
The chief minister reiterated that his government never made hollow promises.
“I had assured you that there will be a flyover at the Kathitand intersection of Ring Road and the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) has agreed to one that will be built for Rs 22 crore. The NHAI has also promised that work on Phases I and II (of the Ring Road) will begin from April. The tender process is underway. We are committed to providing basic amenities like drinking water, power and roads,” he said.
Source: The Telegraph
Rolling out more statistics on government achievements, Das said nearly 5 lakh houses had been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and by 2022, another 5 lakh more would be constructed for the poor.
The chief minister announced that the Centre would send Rs 600 crore to the state under the 14th Finance Commission and the money would be distributed among 4,000-plus mukhiyas. Each will get Rs 26 lakh for improving village infrastructure such as installing streetlights and water towers, making roads and using solar power for pumps, he said.
“The government plans to construct all such infrastructure in rural areas before monsoon. We want to provide 24/7 electricity by making 81 grids and 257 substations by December-end,” Das said.
Chief minister Raghubar Das presses a button to launch Phase VII of Ring Road in Ranchi on Friday as urban development minister CP Singh, mayor Asha Lakra and Kanke MLA Jitu Charan Ram look on Picture by Prashant Mitra
The chief minister finally reminded people to obey traffic rules and not indulge in reckless driving.
Earlier in the day, Das laid the foundation of a Rs 290-crore Ranchi urban water supply scheme, which will involve 14 water towers, 898km pipeline and free connections to 1.6 households; infrastructure development on 656 acres for Rs 513 crore under the Smart City project; and a Rs 252-crore plan for gas-insulated substations.
Das handed over appointment letters to 141 junior engineers of urban development department, and keys and cheques to beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana (urban).
Besides him, the function was also addressed by urban development minister C.P. Singh, Ranchi mayor Asha Lakra, Kanke MLA Jitu Charan Ram and Hatia MLA Naveen Jaiswal.
The welcome address was given by urban development secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh while road construction secretary K.K. Soan proposed the vote of thanks.
Additional reporting by Prashant Mitra
