Page 4 - Nitin Gadkari

Zero corruption in Road Transport and Highways Ministry: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said there is zero corruption in his Ministry. He said the cost escalation in the national highway projects is almost nil, and he does not allow the contractors to meet him. "The cost escalation is almost nil. Every year we do projects worth Rs five lakh crore and so far I have done Rs 50 lakh crore worth works. I don't allow contractors to meet me. There is zero corruption in our (NHAI) work," Gadkari said. He was speaking to reporters here after inspecting the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway work. According to him, his Ministry has improved the technical and financial qualification so that the project cost is below 35 per cent to 38 per cent. "We are strict about the quality. If you have suspicion about the quality of work then you please let me know," Gadkari said. To a query on the enormous delay in completing the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway, the Minister said the project was caught in legal problem for quite some

Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will be ready by March 2024: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway would be ready by next year. A 52-km of greenfield alignment is also part of the project. The cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore, the Minister told reporters here. He said a new greenfield project- Bengaluru to Chennai Expressway at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore - would be ready by March 2024. "By February 2023, the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway Project will be completed. I saw some work pending on the stretch. We will invite either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or President Droupadi Murmu," Gadkari said. The Minister was on a whirlwind tour of Bengaluru and inspected some of the National Highway projects before interacting with journalists. According to him, the Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor is a 10-lane project wherein four lanes two lanes on either sides - have been proposd for the villages and towns attached to the highway while six lanes would lead directly to Mysuru from ...

India aims to double auto industry size to Rs 15 trn by 2024 end: Gadkari

India is aiming to double the size of its automobile industry to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the world's top countries in this sector, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Gadkari also said that his ministry will carry out project works worth Rs 5 lakh crore next year, of which Rs 2 lakh crore will come from the government and the rest will be raised from the capital market. "Currently our automobile industry is Rs 7.5 lakh crore and we want to take it to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the largest automakers in the world, creating huge job opportunities," Gadkari said at a virtual session of Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the majority of automobiles in the country will run on alternative fuels by 2030. "We are also working on developing alternative, clean and green fuels like bio-ethanol, bio-CNG, bio-LNG and green hydrogen," he said, adding that green hydrogen is the fuel

Give loans at lower rates on clean energy vehicles: Gadkari tells banks

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday asked banks to give loans at reduced interest rates to those seeking to buy vehicles that run on clean energy, including flex fuel, electricity and hydrogen. Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of a cooperative bank in Kalyan in Maharashtra's Thane district, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said it was his dream that vehicles running on diesel and petrol get phased out in the next four to five years. He said banks must rate industries based on thee performance on various parameters over the past five years and give those scoring high marks loans within 24 hours, adding credibility and goodwill would be the biggest capital in the 21st century. Speaking about passenger benefits if public transport turns towards electric vehicles, Gadkari said the cost of operation of a non-air conditioned electric bus is Rs 39 per kilometre, while it is Rs 41 per kilometre for an AC electric bus. "All buses in cities like Thane, Kalyan

Regulators should be nimble-footed, should take decision fast: Gadkari

Taking a dig at undue delay in clearance of Surety Bond Insurance product at the regulators' end, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said they should not take years to approve a small innovative scheme. Talking about his personal experience with regard to getting approval for a surety bond insurance for infrastructure sector, he said, the IRDAI took three years to clear the product even after a lot of persuasion from the ministry. The minister on Monday launched the country's first-ever surety bond insurance product for the infrastructure sector, which has been developed by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. Surety Bond Insurance will act as a security arrangement for infrastructure projects and will insulate the contractor as well as the principal (contract awarding authority) from any loss. "Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) took three years to do (a) detail study of surety bond proposal. After three years, the regulator gave NOC ...

Gadkari wants surety bond insurance, not bank guarantee for infra projects

Launches country's first surety bond product, says instrument offers relief to contractors; govt has built in safeguards to protect insurers as well

Slew of road projects will make Nashik major export-import hub: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said efforts are on to develop infrastructure to make Nashik a leading region in the country for export-import of agricultural produce as well as automobile and other manufacturing items. He was speaking here while inaugurating some projects and laying foundation stones for upcoming ones. "Rapid development, especially of good roads, will bring about employment opportunities. We want export of grapes, onions etc as well as automobile sector items to take place directly from here. Efforts are on to make Nashik a leading region for export-import using road, rail and air," he said. He launched and laid foundation stones of 226 kilometres of road worth Rs 1,830 crore during the function held in Igatpuri here. "We are performing the bhoomipujan of seven road works with a total length of 205 kilometres. These projects are worth Rs 1,577 crore. They include works in Dhule Lok Sabha area as well. The work on six-laning the Gonde-Pimpri Sado section wi

India all set to achieve $5 trillion economy target by FY25: Nitin Gadkari

India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is all set to achieve USD 5 trillion GDP by 2024-25, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. Addressing an event organised by industry body FICCI, Gadkari said the central government is aiming to boost growth and employment to achieve sustainable development. The road transport and highways minister said India will play a key role in achieving global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Gadkari noted that India needs to increase its exports and reduce imports. "We are also working on developing alternative, clean and green fuel like bio ethanol, bio-CNG, bio-LNG and green hydrogen," he said, adding green hydrogen is the fuel for the future. The minister said currently India's automobile industry is worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore and he wants to take it to Rs 15 lakh crore."This will create lots of new jobs." He also said his focus is on reducing cost of construction. "We are trying to minimise use of steel and cement

Indian roads will be at par with US in next two years, says Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari says logistics cost, which is 16% of GDP presently, will also fall to single digits by 2024

Need to promote flex-fuel vehicles to deal with crude oil prices: Gadkari

Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the country needs to promote vehicles running on more than one fuel and e-vehicles to tide over the wide fluctuations in crude oil prices

Promote felx-fuel vehicles to tread crude oil price fluctuation: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that the country needs to promote flex-fuel vehicles and e-mobility to tide over the problems created by wide fluctuations in crude oil prices in the international market. Addressing an event organised by SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures), Gadkari further said that the aviation sector is also facing problems due to the high cost of aviation fuel. "Every year, (wide) fluctuations in crude oil prices are creating lots of problems...We need to march towards adoption of 100 per cent flex fuel vehicles," he said. Flex-fuel compatible cars can run on more than one type of fuels and also on a mixture. Typically, a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol is used. The road transport and highways minister pointed out that 40 per cent of pollution in India is because of the use of fossil fuels. Noting that there is a need to encourage technology to convert waste to wealth, he said, "we are encouraging lots of industries to start ...

Delhi-Mumbai expressway to be almost complete in December: Gadkari

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said five greenfield access control expressways are coming up and one of them between Delhi and Mumbai would be almost ready in December. He said the distance between the financial capital and the national capital would be covered in 12 hours once the expressway becomes operational. The expressway between Delhi and Mumbai would be almost complete in December. With this, the distance between the two cities can be covered in 12 hours, he said while addressing a function after inaugurating a 2.82-km-long tunnel road between Rewa and Sidhi worth Rs 1,004 crore. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of seven road projects worth Rs 2443.89 crore. The Delhi-Mumbai expressway will be 1,382 km long. It is worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Its 245-km stretch in MP which costs Rs 20,000 crore has been almost laid. It will hugely benefit the state, he added. Gadkari praised Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the all-around ...

All parties should make collective effort to implement UCC, says Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said all parties should make a collective effort to implement a uniform civil code which will be good for the nation and humanity. Replying to a question on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) at Agenda Aaj Tak event, he said, "If a man marries a woman it is natural. But if someone goes for four marriages that is unnatural. Therefore the progressive and educated Muslims don't do it." "There should be a qualitative change in society. It is not against any religion or sect. We should together develop the nation," the Union minister for road, transport and highways said. Should not women of any religion, be they Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, be given equal rights, he posed. The Union minister also asked which Muslim country in the world has two civil codes. "If the Central government takes a decision on any issue and the states object, then the message that will go out will not be good as there is the concurrent list. So I think that if the states and all parties

G20 presidency offers India opportunity to showcase its strength: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world and stressed that the G20 Presidency offers the country a great opportunity to showcase its strength to the world. India on December 1, officially assumed the presidency of G-20, a grouping of developed and developing nations. "We have a dream to make the Indian economy a 5 trillion dollar economy. India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world and there are a lot of opportunities available in India," the road transport and highways minister said. He was addressing the 14th Annual International Conference on 'New Horizons Beckons' organised by Bahrain Chapter of ICAI (BCICAI). Today a lot of investors across the world, he said, are keenly interested to invest in India. The large pool of young and talented engineers are the biggest strength for India, the minister said. Currently, the size of the Indian automobile industry is Rs 7.5 lakh crore and within five years, it wi

Govt to launch first surety bonds for road contractors on December 19

Will provide relief to contractors, free working capital stuck in bank guarantees, says Gadkari

Construction of 4,766 kms of national highways completed till Nov: Gadkari

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has set a target of constructing 12,200 kilometres of national highways during 2022-23, against which 4,766 kilometres have been constructed till November, 2022, Parliament was informed on Thursday. The road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said under Bharatmala Pariyojana, apart from development of highways/ expressways in the country, which facilitate logistic efficiency to India economy, 35 Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) are to be developed. These MMLPs would act as major cargo consolidation and distribution hubs, Gadkari added. According to him, under Bharatmala Pariyojana 191 points of congestion were identified on the entire network. Gadkari said of the 191 choke points, de-congestion projects have already been completed in 56 congestion points and de-congestion projects are under implementation in 83 congestion points. The work on remaining 52 congestions points will be

More than 1.8 million electric vehicles registered in India: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said more than 18 lakh electric vehicles are registered in the country, with Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra emerging as the leading states in EV sales. The road transport and highways minister, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, said the maximum number of electric vehicles has been registered in Uttar Pradesh (4,14,978), followed by Delhi (1,83,74) and Maharashtra (1,79,087). Gadkari further said Maharashtra has the maximum number of operational public EV charging stations (PCS) at 660, followed by Delhi (539) and Tamil Nadu (439). A total of 5,151 public EV charging stations are operational in India, he added. Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said with implementation of the electronic fee collection system, traffic congestion at fee plazas at highways has been reduced significantly. "In order to eliminate any congestion along National Highways, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working on implementation of .

15-yr-old govt vehicles will be scrapped, policy sent to states: Gadkari

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has said that state govts have been told to scrap 15-year-old vehicles plying on the roads

Take back 'Amazon parcel': Uddhav Thackeray wants Centre to recall Maha Guv

The Shiv Sena leader also exhorted all 'Maharashtra lovers' to protest the governor's remarks on Shivaji

Gadkari inaugurates 2 highway projects worth Rs 1,082 cr in West Bengal

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 2 NH projects worth Rs 1,082 crore at Raiganj, West Bengal, said a press release by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.Gadkari said fulfilling the 60-year-old demand of the people of Dalkhola (NH-34), this 5 km and 4-lane bypass built at the total cost of Rs 120 crore, will finally solve the traffic problem in Dalkhola town now, added the press release.Apart from this, the travel time from Siliguri to Kolkata will reduce by two hours due to the construction of the bypass and ROB. This stretch will also improve movement along border areas of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, he added, as per the statement.The minister said that built at a total cost of Rs 962 crore, the 4-laning of Raniganj to Dalkhola stretch has improved the overall connectivity between West Medinipur and till borders of Bangladesh. This stretch will also enhance connectivity between Bengal & North Eastern Region.