Gadkari says road projects worth Rs 50k to begin in UP by Dec

Road projects worth Rs 50,000 crore would be started in Uttar Pradesh by the year-end, Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said here today.

He said the length of national highways in the state was less when compared to its population.

"I have assured the Chief Minister (Akhilesh Yadav) that by December we will start road projects involving over Rs 50,000 crore. We may even raise the amount by Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore," he told a press conference in which Yadav was also present.

Gadkari said there was a need to expand road network in the state as the length of National Highway in UP was less when compared to its population.

"I have requested the CM to submit a proposal and we will take a positive decision. Once the proposal is submitted, a decision will be taken within a month," he said.

Gadkari said work on certain NHAI projects in the country involving Rs 17,290 crore was underway and the state too would benefit from this.

He said for National Highway projects, a state support agreement had to be signed.

The Union Minister said there were certain problems in implementation of the projects.

"Projects of over Rs 3.8 lakh crore are in limbo and there are four reasons behind it. First is land acquisition about which the CM has promised to hold a meeting in three months to sort out problem," he said.

     The second problem, he said, was construction of railway overbridges (ROB) at certain places.

"After our government came to power, the Railway Board cleared 78 proposals of ROB within 15 days," he said.

The Minister said that the third problem was forest and environment issues.

"After NDA took over, the ministry cleared 79 proposals and more rights have been given to the states.

Regarding felling of trees, he said the work is done by UP Forest Corporation which takes a long time.

Gadkari said Yadav assured him that the system would be improved so that time was not wasted.

Gadkari said efforts would be made to give maximum length of national highways to UP so that the state has a proper road network to carry out economic activities.

The Road and Highways Minister also said the government would develop waterways.

"It is a big tool for transportation. While in China waterways comprise 44 per cent of transport network, it is only 3.3 per cent in India. I want that we give importance to waterways. We will develop waterport from Varanasi to Haldia," he said.

The Minister said that sea plane service would also be promoted as it has all the potential to boost tourism.

"We have ordered a sea bus which will ply both on water and land," he said.

Gadkari said waterways would benefit UP most as rivers criss-crossing the state could be used for transportation of man and material and it was cheaper than bus or train.

"The Centre has declared five waterways, which include Ganga. In the next Parliament session, we will bring a bill to have waterways in 101 rivers. It will cover all rivers in UP," he said.

The Union Minister said that it has been proposed that sand dug due to dredging should be used in construction of National Highways.

"We will extend all required cooperation for development of UP. We don't mix politics with development. Both things are entirely different," he said.

The Union Minister said there was no dearth of funds for this ambitious task.

He said UP was on priority list and the work which had not been done in 10 years would be done in two years.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said a review was done on roads in the state.

"I have said it on many occasions that if you double the speed, you can triple the economy," he said.

He said the country's economy would improve only when states were financially strong.

State PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav said the condition of National Highways in UP was not good and thanked Gadkari for taking interest in improving it in the state and promising timely release of funds.