Indian roads will be on par with America by 2024: Gadkari

He said the Ministry will sign a MoU will the state government in order to give a big push to the ring road projects of different cities in Karnataka.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (Photo | PTI)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (Photo | PTI)

MANGALURU: Stating that the India's road network has seen tremendous improvement in the last few years, Nithin Gadkari, union minister for road transport and highways, on Monday promised that the Indian roads will be on par with that of United states of America (USA) by December 2024.

He was speaking after launching and laying foundation stone for the development of various highways in the region. He said the Ministry will sign a MoU will the state government in order to give a big push to the ring road projects of different cities in Karnataka. AS per the MoU which will be signed soon, he said the state government will have to share just 25 percent of the land acquisition cost and give exemption in GST/royalty for steel, cement and other construction materials.

On the request of MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, the minister sanctioned a flyover at Nanthoor in Mangaluru city and an outer ring road (ORR) from B C Road to Talapady via Kinnogoli to reduce the traffic within the city. Further, the minister said the 26- kms long Shirady ghat road will be widened into a four-lane road in order to improve the port connectivity. Also, he promised to speed up the process of constructing the 6-lane Shiradi ghat tunnel road that involves 7 each tunnels and bridges at a cost of Rs 14,000.

Responding to the request by the MP and locals to shut the Suratkal toll gate, the minister promised to hold a meeting of stakeholders in Delhi soon. “There are some legal complications in this. But I will try to find some way out to resolve the issue,” he said.

Gadkari said the road connectivity between North India and South India is set to improve a lot in the coming days with the completion of Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express Highway and Pune-Bengaluru highway.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai urged the union minister to take up works along the national highways to improve the ground water table stating that it will benefit the farmers. Union minister for parlimentary affairs and coal Pralhad Joshi and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel also spoke.

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