Christmas has come a month early for Tamil Nadu's commuters, as Union minister Jairam Ramesh has sanctioned Rs 1,133 crore to the state for upgrading 3,000 kilometres of the state’s roads under the Prime Minister’s Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

In a letter to Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, giving details of the sanctioned funds, Ramesh mentioned that the union ministry of rural development has considered fresh proposals from the state for support under PMGSY after a four-year hiatus.

Ramesh said the pre-empowered committee met on November 15 and recommended clearance of about 3,088 km roads for upgrade and allocated Rs 1,133 crore.

While giving the clearance, the committee had observed that there may be some roads where traffic volumes could exceed PMGSY norms. For such cases, which will be identified by November 19, the state government will have to bear the additional cost of an approximate Rs 100 crore.

In addition, the committee recommended:

*Clearance for 19 roads using Coir-Geo textiles for a length of 42.01 km at a cost of Rs 20.28 crore.

* Construction of 36 bridges that were left out from the roads already constructed under PMGSY at a cost of Rs 59.98 crore.

* Proposals for laying seven roads measuring 16.505 km using new technology at a cost of Rs 5.93 crore.

In his letter to Jayalalithaa, Ramesh stated that he expects the formal empowered committee, which will give final sanction, to meet next fortnight. He also assured the CM of expeditious consideration and clearance once they have been received, as he assumed that even after this sanction, there may well be some more sanctions required for upgrade of rural roads.