New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Corridor (ADKIC) has recommended connecting the project with 20 cities in seven states, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Wednesday.

The PMO in a statement said the IMG, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had "recommended that ADKIC should be aligned with the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and it would pass through 20 cities in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal."

It had also proposed a government budgetary support for the project of Rs.5,749 crore phased over 15 years.

The ADKIC also proposes to leverage the existing highway system on this route and the Inland Water System being developed along National Waterway-1.

The IMG has recommended that in the first phase of the project,, every state could promote at least one cluster of about 10 sq km area to be called Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC), in which 40 percent area would be earmarked permanently for manufacturing and processing activities.

The IMG has also recommended constitution of an Apex Monitoring Authority, under the chairmanship of the commerce minister, for overall guidance, planning and approvals. It said ADIC should be set up as a corporate entity, on the lines of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC).

At the cluster level, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) may be set up by the state governments for administration of clusters.