By 2024, India’s infrastructure will equal US: Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari handles one of India’s most important portfolios, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which holds extreme significance for the Indian economy. He spoke to News9 Plus about the nine years of the Narendra Modi government and the infrastructure achievements during the period. Edited excerpts:

You have led Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s infra-building campaign. What are the achievements of the last nine years?

The dream of our Prime Minister is Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The mission is also to make India a $5 trillion economy, to make India a super economic power, number one in the world. For that, we need good infrastructure of high standard water, power, transport, and communication.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, our government has made infrastructure development the highest priority. Without good infrastructure, there is no industry. Without industry, there will be no capital investment. Without capital investment, we won’t have employment potential. Without employment potential, we can’t eradicate poverty.

About the road network, I always tell people about a famous statement of John F Kennedy (former US president): American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good.

To make India ‘aatmanirbhar’, we need to develop manufacturing, we need to develop the service sector, we need to develop our tourism, through which we will create more jobs in the country.

I’m confident that we are the fastest-growing economy in the world. Before the end of 2024, our road infrastructure will be equal to world standards. It will be as good as the US infrastructure.

Travelling between major cities has eased as a result of Atal Tunnel, Zojila in Kargil, and many other such projects. Can you list some of the breakthroughs of the government?

We have projects of Rs 65,000 crore to decongest Delhi. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be built before December. The travel time will be 12 hours. Previously, the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun was nine hours, but now it can be done in four hours. Delhi to Haridwar can be travelled in 1.5 hours, Delhi to Jaipur in two hours, Delhi to Amritsar in four hours, Delhi to Katra in six hours, Delhi to Srinagar in eight hours, Chennai to Bengaluru in 2.5 hours, and Bengaluru to Mysore in an hour and 20 minutes.

The roads aren’t just super highways. They factor in environmental consciousness as well. Can you elaborate?

We have already used 20 lakh tons of garbage in the construction of Urban Extension Project (UER) II in Delhi. We are also using 20 lakh tons of garbage in the construction of the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway. We are creating a policy to use municipal waste for road construction. We have already successfully used bamboo crush barriers. So, we are very eco-friendly. We have now carried out more than 25,000 transplantation of trees [affected by] road [projects] successfully. Wherever we want to make a green expressway, we are using green fuels, such as ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, bio LNG, bio CNG, electric, and hydrogen.

We are also supporting the diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector. The basic policy is to be cost-effective, pollution-free, and indigenous. The diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector is a great historical thing that is going to push the socio-economic transformation of an aspirant district. We have 130 aspirant districts and 500 blocks which are socially, economically, and educationally backward, and that will be our priority area.

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The government has been promoting electric vehicles (EVs). What is the way forward?

Electric cars, electric scooters, electric autorickshaws, electric buses… they are very popular. EVs have a long waiting list now. Within three years, you will see EVs everywhere. That is going to reduce our imports as well as reduce pollution.

The Northeast is also witnessing infra development. What’s the vision for it?

We are making roads worth Rs 3 lakh crore in the Northeast. This infrastructure growth will be very useful in accelerating the socio-economic transformation of that area. We are developing 26 roads as emergency landing airstrips in the Northeast. The people there will tell you about the success story of road infrastructure in the region. It is very important because it’s a hilly area and there are a lot of problems.

 We are in the process of making 260 proposals of ropeway, cable car, and funicular railway, costing Rs 1.3 lakh crore. We are creating a multimodal logistic park in Jogighopa in Assam. It will be completed within two-three months. It is going to be a game-changer in developing the Northeast and creating more employment potential.

Your department’s work is among the most visible achievements of this government. Your thoughts?

The credit goes to my team. I always define a success story in terms of commitment to the work and a corruption-free system. We do have a lot of problems related to the environment: forest clearance, land acquisition, and encroachments. But I always tell my people that I like those who can get things done. Problems are there, yes, but it is a test of the leadership to resolve the problems. The credit goes to contractors, officers, engineers, the people who work day and night. It’s their contribution that helps me and my ministry get this credit.

The 2024 election is just a year away. What are the BJP’s chances? 

I feel that the politics of the 21st century is the politics of progress and development. Today, India has a strong reputation in the world. We are the fastest-growing economy in the world and the credit goes to the leadership of PM Modi and our government. That’s why the people support our work. We are going to win the election and we will make India ‘aatmanirbhar’, a superpower, and the number one economy in the world. That is our dream.

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