Context: Recently, the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Environment Ministry has recommended the grant of Environmental Clearance for the development of an economic corridor between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Key Points

• The Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) – greenfield highway is part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana and will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India.
• The project will start in Dabaspet in Karnataka and end near Devarapalli village on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border.

Benefits

• The new road would provide better, fast, safe and smooth connectivity for commuters between the two States as well as in the region.
• Accident rates are also expected to be under control due to enhanced road safety measures.
• Development of the proposed project road will boost local agriculture and enable farmers to realise better value for their products as well as attract more investment to that region.

Bharatmala Pariyojana

• The Government of India launched “Bharatmala Pariyojana”, an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing the efficiency of road traffic movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps.
• The scheme was initiated with an aim to improve road traffic and improve trade through road transportation.

Some other key features of the Bharatmala Pariyojana include:

• The main aim was to improve the quality of roads in order to bring in a wave of development in every corner of the country.
• Construction of new roads is another important feature for the announcement for this scheme. 
• The Government plans to finish the construction of all the roads, under this scheme, within a time span of five years.
• Since the fund provided by the Government may not be sufficient for the construction of roads, hence the Ministry relies on various other sources for the completion of this project.
• The project aims to construct multiple roads and for proper executive of the project, the Ministry has decided to divide the project into various categories for proper construction of the roads.