Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday vowed to transform Delhi's landscape if the BJP assumed power in the national capital after the February 5 polls. Addressing a public meeting in Shalimar Bagh, Gadkari claimed that his party did not seek to merely change the government but to transform the national capital.
"We do not just want to change the government ... We want to change the picture of Delhi … Only the BJP can do this," he asserted. Gadkari compared BJP-led governance to high-speed progress, asserting that Delhi's development would accelerate like a bullet train if the saffron party assumed power. "If the BJP's engine is installed in Delhi, development will happen at bullet-train speeds," he remarked.
Addressing the issue of pollution, Gadkari pledged to make the city free from toxic air in five years. "Delhi is not just the country's capital but also the heart of the people. This heart has developed an infection," he said, referring to the national capital's severe air pollution problem. Citing global rankings, he noted that 42 of the world's 50 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi being the worst hit.
Gadkari -- the Union minister of road transport and highways -- acknowledged transportation as a significant contributor to the problem, with fossil fuels accounting for about 40 per cent of the city's pollution. "I accept that 40 per cent of the pollution happens because of my department." He also highlighted the Centre's waste management efforts, claiming that 20 lakh tons of garbage from the Ghazipur landfill had been used for road construction, reducing the height of the garbage pile by seven metres. "Can this situation not be changed?" he asked, asserting that the Centre had been actively working on addressing these challenges. Discussing infrastructure development, Gadkari noted that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, road projects worth Rs 65,000 crore had been approved for Delhi. "We have completed work worth Rs 33,000 crore and, by December, work worth Rs 1 lakh crore will be done in NCR," he said.
The Union minister said key expressways, including the Delhi-Katra Expressway, would significantly ease congestion and expressed confidence that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway would be completed before Republic Day next year. Gadkari also emphasised efforts to clean the Yamuna, revealing that the Centre had provided Rs 6,000 crore to the Delhi government for the river's rejuvenation.
However, the city government did not contribute its 15 per cent share, delaying the project, he claimed. "Cleaning the Yamuna is difficult but not impossible."
Outlining his vision for sustainable development, Gadkari stressed the need to shift farmers from being merely food providers to energy contributors, advocating for bio-CNG production from agricultural waste.
"My vision is to make Delhi free from waste. Bio-CNG is being prepared from stubble and you will not see any buses running on diesel within five years," he said. Gadkari reiterated the BJP's commitment to ethics, economy, ecology and the environment, asserting that an honest and efficient administration could drive change. "This country needs people who work with honesty. The problem is not money but finding the right people to get the work done," he said, promising a cleaner and more developed Delhi if the BJP took office.
