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The West Bengal government has cleared a large road development programme worth INR 8,487 crore to build more than 20,000 km of new roads across rural and urban areas. The project covers around 15,011 km of rural roads under the Pathashree scheme and nearly 5,019 km of urban roads under the KMDA. The entire investment will come from the state's own budget. The cabinet has already approved the plan, and the tendering process will begin soon through a dedicated portal. Construction work is expected to start in January as part of the state's broader connectivity push.
The West Bengal government has approved a major road development plan with an investment of INR 8,487 crore to construct over 20,000 km of roads across the state. This programme aims to strengthen rural and urban connectivity under the Pathashree and Rastashree schemes. The decision was taken after the earlier review of state infrastructure gaps highlighted the need for improved access to local markets, essential services and administrative centres. Advertisement
As part of the plan, nearly 15,011 km of rural roads will be taken up for construction. Government officials shared that this will support movement in remote areas where many routes remain kutcha or partially developed. Similar rural road efforts were taken up in the past under the Pathashree initiative, which received positive feedback for improving travel for villagers, students and small businesses.
In addition to rural connectivity, around 5,019 km of roads will be developed across urban locations within the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority's jurisdiction. A separate fund allocation of INR 1,500 crore has been made for these urban stretches. The state has been focussing on improving city-level transport links, including feeder routes leading to main corridors, as part of its broader mobility planning.
The government has confirmed that the entire cost will be borne by the state exchequer, without seeking external funding. To ensure faster execution, a dedicated tendering portal has been created to streamline contractor selection and reduce delays. Officials noted that this mechanism is expected to improve transparency and bring better coordination across departments responsible for implementation.
Construction work is planned to begin in January, once the tender approvals are completed. Departments have been instructed to clear administrative processes in advance so that work can move quickly and avoid weather-related disruptions later in the year. The scale of this project also positions it as one of the state's largest infrastructure drives in recent years, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Past state projects like the earlier phases of Pathashree and rural road upgrades have shown that improved connectivity plays a key role in supporting trade, transport of essential goods and daily movement of residents. This new programme expands on those outcomes by covering a wider network across both rural and urban regions.
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