Officials highlight centre's sanctions to boost Karnataka infra ahead of PM Modi's arrival

Unidentified officials said the central government has taken various steps to give impetus to infrastructure development in Karnataka and noted that in the last eight years, it has sanctioned about ₹70,000 crore for 5,000 kilometres of national highways in the southern state.

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and flags off a Vande Bharat train between Mysuru and Chennai, officials on Thursday highlighted his efforts to boost infrastructure in Karnataka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (FILE)

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They said the central government has taken various steps to give impetus to infrastructure development in Karnataka and noted that in the last eight years, it has sanctioned about ₹70,000 crore for 5,000 kilometres of national highways in the southern state.

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Before 2014, the central government in the railway budget used to make an average provision of ₹800 crore for Karnataka every year but a provision of about ₹7,000 crore has been made in the budget this year, they said, noting it is now almost nine times of the amount provisioned earlier.

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During the 10 years prior to 2014, only 16 km of railway lines in Karnataka were electrified. But since then, about 1,600 km of railway lines have been electrified in Karnataka, they said.

Modi will be on a two-day visit to the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from Friday during which he will attend several events, including the launch of development initiatives.