State Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) Nitin Gadkari has said that a proposal in this regard has been sent by the State Government to Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, for consideration.

The Vajpayee Government had initiated steps to construct express highways, linking the East-West and North-South regions soon after taking over at the Centre. Besides, the Union Government had wanted to link all metropolitan cities through such Express Highways.

However, the availability of funds is posing a major problem. At least Rs 30,000 crore is needed for the project. Gadkari, however, said the State Government would have no trouble mobilising funds. "Funds are no problem for us. If a major portion of the work is handed over to us, we will ensure that it is completed within the next two years",he said.

Gadkari added the State Government had agreed to complete the work on highways, worth Rs 10,000 crore, immediately.

A delegation of the State Government, along with the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pramod Mahajan, would meet Vajpayee and ensure that a major part of the project is handed over to the Maharashtra Government, he said.

One of the highways, the West-East Express Highway, would pass through Nagpur, thus benefiting the region. The State Government had recently also requested the Union Government to set up its regional office at Nagpur, to no avail. The office would now be set up at Jhansi.

The Vajpayee Government would float tenders for the works sometime this month and work on highways would begin before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled in September.

Meanwhile, Gadkari, who is also a senior BJP leader of the region, said the party may field some new faces in Vidarbha for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party is expected to field freshfaces in Bhandara and Yavatmal parliamentary constituencies this time.

Senior party functionary and director of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Ramesh Mantri, may be renominated as the party candidate for the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, he said. Mantri faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Vilasrao Muttemwar of the Congress in last Lok Sabha elections.