Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that by 2024, road infrastructure in India will be similar to that of the United States.
Before 2024, as many as 26 green express highways will be constructed which will bring down travel time considerably.
Once the highways are in place, travel time from Delhi to Dehradun, Delhi to Haridwar, Delhi to Jaipur would only take around two hours. While Delhi to Chandigarh will take 2.30 hrs, Delhi to Amritsar will be done in 4 hours and Delhi to Mumbai in 12 hours.
The Minister was replying to Congress MP Rajeev Shukla’s query during Question Hour on the fund availability of NHAI. “The Government is constructing 26 green highways. Road infrastructure in India will be similar to that of the U.S by 2024. There is no dearth of funds. We are committed to changing the face of road infrastructure in the country,” Gadkari said in his reply.
On the fund availability, he said that NHAI can construct roads worth five lakh crore every year.
During a discussion over Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary stated that in Uttar Pradesh during the period 2018-20, as many as 1,338 cases were registered under UAPA, according to the government’s data. However, only 83 saw a conviction that accounts for a 6 per cent conviction rate.
“This proves that the application of the law is somewhat wrong. How will you sensitise the UP police towards the law?” Chaudhary asked MoS Home Nityanand Rai.
This is the data of states and this is not like that judgement have come on the all matters. And, state Governments also file cases under UAPA,” the minister replied.
The state road transport corporation will never profit, as their buses are running on costly diesel, he said. “I can say with full responsibility that the cost of ticket in air-conditioned electric buses will become cheaper easily by 30 per cent compared to the diesel ones,” Gadkari said.