Ranchi, June 30: National highways passing through Maoist dominated corridors of Jharkhand are set to get a major facelift, courtesy a Rs 750-crore plan approved by the Union ministry of road transport and highways.

The scheme will cover about 630km of dilapidated roads, which have recently been categorised as national highways. Among these roads are NH-75 (Ranchi-Daltonganj), NH7-5E (Ranchi-Chaibasa road), NH-98 (Palamau-Harihargunj road), NH-99 (Chandwa to Dobhi road) and NH-100.

The state road construction secretary, N.N. Sinha, told The Telegraph the ambitious project was to be completed in the next three years. “The department is preparing detailed project reports which we will send to the Centre by August,” he said.

At yesterday’s review meeting chaired by the visiting Union cabinet secretary, K.M. Chandrashekhar, Union transport secretary Brahma Dutt discussed the project with officials of the state.

Chief engineer (NH) of the road construction department, Murari Bhagat, said they had involved Chaibasa, Hazaribagh and Daltonganj divisions for preparing the detailed project reports. “It will be a challenge to complete the project by 2012,” he said.

Bhagat’s comment reflected the scepticism among highway authority officials who cite the state’s poor track record in executing development projects in Naxalite strongholds.

“It will require cumulative efforts by state government agencies, particularly the local administration and police, to complete the project on time,” he said, referring to the menace of levies the rebels routinely charged whenever projects of this nature were launched.