Govt spends Rs. 62k cr to boost road infra, reduce pollution in Delhi: Gadkari
Road projects worth Rs 62,000 crore have been undertaken in the national capital to ease traffic congestions, and tackle the problem of pollution, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: Road projects worth Rs 62,000 crore have been undertaken in the national capital to ease traffic congestions, and tackle the problem of pollution, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
Replying to a debate on the Demands for Grants for Road Transport and Highways Ministry, 2022-23, in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari recalled how he used to get stuck for an hour in Dhaula Kuan traffic every time he used to travel to and from the airport.
In 2019, Gadkari had inaugurated a three-lane underpass at Parade Road junction near Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to ease the traffic moving from Delhi to the airport and Gurugram. "We are trying to lessen pollution. My department is spending Rs 62,000 crore only for tackling Delhi pollution. We made Ring Road and other roads so that pollution comes down," Gadkari said.
The minister further said it is his endeavour to make the road infrastructure in India at par with the United States by 2040. In this context, he referred to a famous quote by former US President John F Kennedy that "American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good". Highlighting the improvement in highway connectivity and road infrastructure, Gadkari said that it now takes only 40 minutes to travel to Meerut from Delhi, as against four hours earlier. "Our aim is to reduce the cost of construction and improve the quality," he said.
