Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the country is all set for a major infrastructural revamp which includes boost growth in national highways, Inland ways and railways. launching an ambitious `50,800-crore Setu Bharatam project to ensure highways without railway crossings by 2019 and overhaul of 1,500 British-era bridges, the Prime Minister said his Government is committed to speeding up all projects related to infrastructure.
“Our endeavour is for a quantum jump (in infrastructure) for a breakthrough, for fast-tracking projects. Infrastructure plays the same role for the nation as arteries play in a human body and thus, making it sound is quintessential,” Modi said lauding Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for “pioneering work” in infrastructure.
Modi said infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the country’s growth and a comprehensive integrated approach has been initiated. He added that the Government’s emphasis is not just on “highways, but on I-ways (Information ways) and railways”.
Under the Setu Bharatam project, a total of 208 railway crossings will be replaced by rail over bridges (ROBs) by 2019 at an estimated cost of `20,800 crore while 1,500 bridges of the British era will be overhauled at an estimated expenditure of `30,000 crore across the country. The Prime Minister said Indian Bridge Management System has been introduced to map all 1,50,000 bridges in the country.
The Prime Minister also praised Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for putting the development of tracks on fast forward mode and as compared to commissioning of 1,477km km of rail tracks every year during UPA-1 and 1500 km annually during UPA-2, NDA has commissioned 2,292 km of railway tracks per year so far.
The Prime Minister spoke of “massive reforms” in the Railways, “unlike in the past when new train announcements were done regularly to please particular parliamentarians”. “There are a number of such announcements which could not be translated into reality,” Modi said.
No one has given attention to the reforms being undertaken in the Railways till now. Those who talk of big reforms can see how much changes have come in the Railways,” Modi said at the launch of Setu Bharatam Project.