National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

4.17 NH-5A from Chandikhol to Paradip has already been taken up for four-laning in 2004and 34 per cent of the work has been completed. The entire NH-5A falls in Orissa and wastaken up as a port connectivity project. The project is scheduled to be completed in June2007.4.18 As regards serial no. (iv) above, the part from Kharagpur to Kolaghat has been takenup under the Golden Quadrilateral project (linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata)and the portion from Kolaghat to Haldia under the port connectivity schemes. Portions ofNH-33 and NH-6 falling in Jharkhand have not been taken up for improvement. In serial no.(v) above, the portion from Jaintgarh to Chaibasa is NH-75E and from Chaibasa toJamshedpur is a SH.4.19 Thus, most of the identified roads are already under improvement under various NHprojects. The identified roads not yet taken up are NH-33 and a small segment of NH-6falling in Jharkhand as well as NH-75E. The Committee recommends that these sections ofthe route from Jaintgarh via Chaibasa and Jamshedpur to Haldia that have not yet been takenup for improvement should be taken up under the NHDP Phase-III project. In the Committee,there was support also for declaring the small portion of the SH between Chaibasa toJamshedpur as NH although the representative of the Ministry of Surface Road Transport andHighways (MOSRTH) pointed out that a decision had been taken not to declare any morestate roads as NH for the time being.4.20 It was mentioned in the presentations that several SHs and link roads from the minesto the NH or SH or to the railhead would also need to be taken up for construction to make iteasier for the SME mine owners to transport the minerals. The general issue of futurefinancing of road projects is taken up later in this Report.4.21 Minerals, being bulk commodities, are transported over long distances over landmainly by the railways the world over. This is the case in India too and mineral transportfrom the mines to the ports or to the factories takes place by rail. The presentations hadidentified a number of segments of railway lines of critical importance for transportation ofminerals. Most, if not all, of the identified projects have already been taken up, the latestadditions being made by the Report of the Committee of Secretaries on Road Rail103