MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that there was no shortcut to development, warning that political parties were wasting the hard-earned taxpayers’ money for political interests with the aim of forming the government by making false promises.
“When the country is working towards becoming a developed nation in the next 25 years, some political parties want to destroy the economy of the country for their own self-interests,” said the PM while dedicating Rs 75,000-crore worth of development projects in Maharashtra.
He said the election results in Gujarat reflect the robust economic policy, permanent development, and solutions. The PM was in Nagpur to mark the beginning of new projects in Maharashtra. These include national rail projects worth more than Rs 1,500 crores, National Institute of One Health (NIO), Nagpur and Nag river pollution abatement project.
“Today a constellation of eleven new stars is rising for the development of Maharashtra which will help in achieving new heights and provide a new direction”, he said. The PM highlighted that these mega projects are proof of the pace of work by the double-engine government of Maharashtra.
“Today a constellation of 11 new stars is rising for the development of Maharashtra which will help in achieving new heights and provide a new direction,” he said. He said these mega projects were proof of the pace of work by the ‘double-engine’ governments in Maharashtra and at the Centre.
“Infrastructure cannot just cover lifeless roads and flyovers. Its expansion is much bigger. After the formation of the double-engine government in 2017, the work on Gosekhurd Dam has been accelerated,” he said. The Gosekhurd dam is an earthfill dam on the Wainganga river near Pauni in Bhandara district of Maharashtra.
The dam contains 33 spillway gates to regulate water flow into the river for irrigation throughout the year. The Prime Minister lamented the lost opportunities for India not being able to take advantage of the first industrial revolution and lagging behind in subsequent such revolutions. “When it is time for the fourth industrial revolution, India cannot miss it,” he said.
“A developed India can become a reality through unity, progress and development of all states. When we have a narrow approach towards development, opportunities are also limited,” he said. “In the last eight years, we have changed the mindset and approach with ‘sabka saath, sabka vishwas and sabka prayas’ (with everyone’s efforts and trust),” he said.
Key projects
Samruddhi Mahamarg
The over 700km Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway being built at a cost of about Rs 55,000 crore is one of India’s longest expressways, passing through Maharashtra’s 10 districts
Rail projects
At Nagpur railway station, the PM flagged off Vande Bharat Express that will run between Nagpur and Bilaspur
Nagpur Metro
PM dedicated ‘Nagpur Metro Phase I’ to the nation. He also flagged off two metro trains. The phase-I is developed at a cost of more than Rs 8,650 crore
AIIMS Nagpur
The foundation stone was laid in July 2017. It has been established under the Central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.