Union Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has spoken to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal about work on Delhi-Agra water connectivity on Yamuna. Talking to Richa Sharma he said that he was hopeful that the tender will be out soon.
What is the progress on the ambitious Delhi-Agra water connectivity plan?
I have spoken to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal about this. The Delhi Jal Board has to stop flow of untreated water and sewers into the river. We have told the Delhi government that we will carry out dredging of Yamuna and the dredged sand can be used in highway construction. And to carry out the work we need to hold water at some places and Delhi has agreed to support us. We will soon start the first water connectivity project on Yamuna between Palla and Wazirabad and tender will be out soon.
How does the ministry plan to run driverless pods in Delhi, NCR to ease traffic?
Initially, there were safety issues with Metrino technology. Safety norms have to be made country-specific and so we are consulting with countries that use the technology.
Any new plans for metropolitan cities?
We have proposed multi-modal transport hubs wherein state transport, water transport, airways and railways will be integrated. We are also looking at mass rapid electric transport such as cable cars, driverless pods that is cost effective and pollution free. And for this we have started assessment in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.
The Motor Vehicle Act to check traffic violations is still pending with Parliament?
The bill is pending with the Parliamentary Standing Committee and I request it to submit the report at the earliest so that we can introduce it in the Budget Session. Over 1.5 lakh people were killed in accidents in 2015. By passing the law, we will be able to save many lives.
What do you have to say about the slow progress in highways sector?
We are behind our target of constructing 40-km road every day, which was a very ambitious target. By March, we want to touch the 30 km per day target, which will also be a record.