Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the draft for policy to incentivise construction machinery using alternative fuel has been prepared. He further said that the proposal will be shared with the finance ministry for approval, without giving a definite timeline.
Gadkari said that the actions being taken are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions of making India a carbon neutral country by 2047.
In May, Gadkari had pitched the idea for road making companies to switch to using alternative fuel power construction equipment and save costs.
Speaking at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI’s) International Conference on Tunnel Construction on Wednesday, he had said, “Diesel machinery should be discouraged. Electricity, methanol, and ethanol powered construction equipment can save costs.”
Sharing the estimates, he had said that around a tenth of the cost of construction in highways is used just in running diesel powered equipment.
He also spoke about the substandard detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared by Indian companies and called for improving them. Gadkari said he was open to the idea of encouraging international companies in making DPRs for Indian road projects to reduce accidents and speed up decision making.
Speaking later in the day at the Annual Flagship Infrastructure Conference and Awards organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), he said that there should be efforts to reduce the use of steel and cement. “The cost of highway construction should come down with use of modern technologies,” Gadkari said.
“We are making logistic parks worth INR 2 lakh crore. That is an investment avenue. Development of road side smart cities, villages, and logistic parks is being planned. Joint venture partners are being sought for setting up industrial clusters,” he had earlier said.
