State Profile : Infrastructure
Transport
Uttarakhand has 28,508 km of roads, of which 1,328
km are national highways and 1,543 km are state highways. The State
Road Transport Corporation (SRTC), which has been reorganized in
Uttarakhand as the "Uttarakhand Transport Corporation", is a major
constituent of the transportation system in the state. The Corporation
began to work on 31 October 2003 and provides services on interstate and
nationalized routes. As of 2012, approximately 1000 buses are being
plied by the "Uttarakhand Transport Corporation" on 35 nationalized
routes along with many other non-nationalized routes. There are also
private transport operators operating approximately 3000 buses on
non-nationalised routes along with a few interstate routes in
Uttarakhand and the neighbouring state of U.P. For travelling locally,
the state, like most of the country, has auto rickshaws and cycle
rickshaws. In addition, remote towns and villages in the hills are
connected to important road junctions and bus routes by a vast network
of crowded share jeeps.
The state air transport is not very well
developed, although there have been efforts to develop Naini Saini
Airport in Pithoragarh district, Chaniyalisaur in Uttarkashi and Gauchar
in Chamoli district. The major airport in the state is the Jolly Grant
Airport in Dehradun, which is well connected to Delhi. Another domestic
airport is located in the Kumaon region of Pantnagar. There are plans to
launch helipad service in Pant Nagar and Jolly Grant Airports and other
important tourist destinations like Ghangharia and Hemkund Sahib.
As over 90% of Uttarakhand's terrain consists of
hills, railway services are very limited in the state and are largely
confined to the plains. As of 2011, the total length of railway tracks
was about 345 km. Rail, being the cheapest mode of transport, is most
popular. The most important railway station in Kumaun Division of
Uttarakhand is at Kathgodam, 35 kilometres away from Nainital. Kathgodam
is the last terminus of the broad gauge line of North East Railways
that connects Nainital with Delhi,Dehradun, and Howrah. Other notable
railway stations are at Lalkuan and Haldwani.
Dehradun Railway Station is a railhead of the
Northern Railways. Haridwar station is situated on the Delhi-Dehradun
and Howrah-Dehradun railway lines. One of the main railheads of the
Northern Railways, Haridwar Junction Railway Station is connected by
meter gauge and broad gauge lines. Roorkee comes under Northern Railway
region of Indian Railways on the main Punjab - Mughal Sarai trunk route
and is connected to major Indian cities. Other railheads are Rishikesh,
Kotdwar and Ramnagar linked to Delhi by daily trains.
Power
The state has adequate availability of power and
is aiming to further increase hydro power production by over 5000 MW
before the end of the present decade. A number of small and medium size
hydro sites have been identified to be developed in the private sector
or in public-private partnership, besides development of projects in the
public sector. These measures have been taken up to ensure supply of
quality power to the entrepreneurs setting up industrial units in the
state.
The mission of the state with respect to the power sector is:
- . Achieve 100% rural electrification by March 2007, Hamlets by March 2008 and rural households by March 2009.
- . Provide 24x7 reliable, quality and un-interrupted supply to its consumers.
- . Provide "power to all" on demand.
- . Strengthen the existing power network based on present advanced technology with an objective to reduce T&D losses.
- . Provide power system network with minimal environmental impact.
- . Plan and provide strong power system to the state and its consumers at an affordable cost.
- . Develop a professionally managed organization.
- . Generate additional revenue for the Corporation and State by
developing a strong, adequate, reliable and cohesive power network based
on most techno-economical aspects to contribute towards the development
and prosperity of the State.
- . Improve social status of the people.
- . Reduce poverty of the people.
- . Provide employment in the rural sections by providing reliable supply.
- . Establish Consumer Care Centre, Central Call Centre etc. to provide Quality Service to the Consumers.
- . Release Electricity Connection to the consumers under Tatkal Sewa within 24 hours for better service to them.
- . Contribute to the formation of a developed & progressive Uttarakhand State.
Roads
- . Provide high speed connectivity with rest of the country.
- . Provide adequate and efficient connectivity to all the demand drivers (Tourism, Industries, Agriculture and Urban centres.)
- . Provide connectivity to all the villages/habitations through roads and bridges.
- . Provide 100 percent all weather roads.
Strategy for Development :
- . Identification of core network and all future developments to
be linked to the core network to ensure economies of scale in terms of
traffic counts.
- . Work in close co-ordination with the central government for development of high-speed corridors NH 58 & 87.
- . Minimize transaction costs and delays in transportation through integrated check posts and bypasses along core network.
- . Explore spectrum of private participation in construction,
maintenance and management of corridors through BOT and other options.
Initiative Underway :
- . Discussions initiated with multilateral institutions for development of road network.
- . Asian Development Bank - connectivity to sparsely connected hill districts.
- . World Bank - upgradation/ widening of all State Highways and Major District Roads.
- . 300 km of road stretches forming entry points to the State identified for development through the private sector.
|