“India will hopefully get highways of the American standard in next three years”…Says Union Highway and Transport Minister
The Union Highway and Transport Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that India will soon get highways of the American standard.
The Union minister said that National highways are being constructed at a very fast pace under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire country can hope of getting highways of the American standard in the next three years.
He also said that 38 km of roads are being constructed every day now compared to just two km per day in the past.
The Union Minister on Saturday dedicated virtually to the nation a 3.75-km long four-lane elevated corridor in Deesa town of Banaskantha jointly with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
He also stated that a large number of projects of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry are underway in Gujarat under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, Gadkari asked Rupani to resolve the issues of land acquisition to quicken the pace of infrastructure development.
Gadkari while addressing a virtual program organized by the Gujarat government to mark the completion of five years of office said “I would request the Chief Minister (Rupani) to personally offer his guidance so that a way is found soon to resolve the issues of land acquisition. This will certainly help expedite (road construction) projects being undertaken in Gujarat.”
Gadkari further added that the Highway ministry has undertaken many projects in Gujarat, including 1,080 km (road construction) projects worth Rs 25,370 crore under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
Among the projects is an expressway between Delhi and Mumbai that will pass through seven districts of Gujarat.
He said that the Delhi-Mumbai expressway is also moving at a very fast pace, Gadkari said the 125-km stretch connecting Vadodara to Kim in south Gujarat at an investment of Rs 8,711 crore will be completed by December 2021.
“This expressway will prove to be a big boon for tribals and backward areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. The highway will bring industry and trade which will benefit farmers. The expressway will work as a growth engine and will certainly take Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan to the path of growth,” he added.
He also asserted that the work on the Amritsar-Jamnagar economic corridor has started and the Prime Minister has been requested to take time out for its groundbreaking ceremony.
A part of the 109-km Dholera-Ahmedabad Expressway, which is being constructed for Rs 3,000 crore, will be awarded by October 2021, he said.
Gadkari also said that the six-laning of the national highway between Shamlaji and Chiloda will be completed by December 2021 and four-laning of the highway between Varsala and Bhuj by March 2022.
