Centre approves Rs 4,406 crore project to develop 2,280 km border roads in Punjab, Rajasthan

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a Rs 4,406-crore plan to develop 2,280-km roads in border areas to connect the villages of Punjab and Rajasthan.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwani Vaishnaw said these roads were part of the project to connect the border villages with main highways, which were coming up. This would help in connecting these border villages to markets and aid in trade.

The government has already launched programmes to upgrade border villages along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China by providing telecom connectivity, roads, infrastructure, etc.

The Union Cabinet also approved a centrally-funded scheme of Rs 17,082 crore for supplying fortified rice. This would help in tackling anaemia and providing micronutrients, he said, adding that a supply chain had been set for this. “It will tackle the problem of anaemia,” the minister said.

Vaishnaw said the Union Cabinet had decided to revive maritime heritage. A maritime heritage complex would come up at Lothal, the Harappan era port, and its first phase would come up in 2-3 years. Lothal had documented evidence of being one of the prominent trade centre of 2500 BC, the minister said. India has a strong maritime heritage of naval shipbuilding ports. He said they had a nearly 5000-year-old evidence-based maritime heritage. There were around 80 ports that were mentioned in past texts and books documenting the history of those times.