Silchar, April 25: Contractors in Barak Valley have remained deprived for many years, PWD, fisheries and excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya has said.

He was speaking today at a programme held in connection with cheque distribution among contractors of three districts of the valley - Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi - at the office of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) here today.

"Contractors in Barak Valley have been deprived for many years and as a result road connectivity is in a shambles in this part of the state. However, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government is committed to solve all problems and take the region towards the path of development and progress in future," Suklabaidya said.

Taking a dig at the previous Congress government, he wanted to know the reasons why roads have remained dilapidated for many years in the valley. "What are the reasons for which the contractors here are still facing payment-related problems?" he asked.

"The government is going to start floating tenders for the construction of 9,000km road in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme soon. It is also planning to introduce innovative technologies by application of geotextiles and geogrids, among others, in construction of the state's roads."

Suklabaidya said though there was no dearth of funds, shortage of manpower, especially contractors, had paralysed road construction in Barak Valley.

According to him, unavailability of engineers, too, is a major problem.

Some engineers would be recruited by the department on contract soon, the minister added.

Suklabaidya said 332km of national highway was constructed in 70 years of Congress rule, whereas 293km national highway had already been built in just 10-11 months since the "lotus bloomed in Dispur".

He said a proposal for construction of 100km road in Barak Valley under the PMGSY scheme had been approved. The tender-calling process was under way and work would start soon, the minister said.

The executive engineer of Silchar rural roads division, Mrinmoy Nath, said: "The government has sanctioned funds for the construction of 150 roads in Cachar district under the Assam road maintenance scheme. Some of the roads have been completed while construction of other roads are under way."

"Earlier, the PWD was plagued by a plethora of problems. The picture has improved remarkably after Suklabaidya became the PWD minister," he added.

The executive engineer, PWD department (NH division), Cachar, Moloy Deb, said: "There are a lot of issues in the PWD. Lack of infrastructure, shortage of technical staff, payment issues, irregular recruitment process, among others, have crippled the department's progress."

Asked whether the government was taking any step to make Assam self-sufficient in fish production, Suklabaidya said the government, under a project named Blue Revolution, was targeting to dig 10,000 ponds across the state to boost aquaculture.

"Trained people will be assigned in the project to make it successful. I am optimistic that the initiative will be fruitful," he said.