The proposed 285-km road will serve as an alternative to the NH-44, connecting this region with Guwahati through Shillong.

The approval came in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on economic affairs in New Delhi yesterday, said Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Santosh Mohan Dev here today.

Mr Dev, who also participated in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also concerned over frequent landslips in NH 44 leading to disruption of communication of the region, including south Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and western part of Manipur, during monsoon in particular.

The Union Minister said the new road would get Guwahati from Silchar through Assam areas only by touching Harangajao and Turuk in North Cachar Hill district of the state.

He said while the new road would help lessen distance between Silchar and Guwahati, there would be a few terrains throughout the proposed stretch, and therefore fear of landslides and allied possibilities of disruption would be minimised.

It would help the region's connectivity with the rest of the country remaining uninterrupted throughout the year, the Union Minister said.

The meeting gave financial approval for construction of a total of 994-km new stretch of national highways for the North-East, including the Guwahati-Silchar alternative road, a new 40-km road from Jiribam to Badarpur, in parallel with NH 53, another 40-km road from Silchar to Lala in parallel with NH 54 and the 20-km Silchar by-pass road, Mr Dev said.

--- UNI